Endless Hells 3

Bah! You fool, that theory is older than Anklek Untobi down at Infernal Studies! Everyone knows the Notional Fiends were demons of immense power who ascended from this sinful life! Tis the way of Hell you know! Most of them are likely to be Great Dragons!

There is a castle which visits the nexus at times, made of diamonds, jade, and gold. The castle is called the home of the virtuous ancients. It appears in the nexus, it is present for a short time, then it is gone again. Why it visits no one knows, and very few go in or out of it, as its doors open only for the most virtuous, or on the rare occasion that someone is an invited guest.

>It is suspected that the Castle may be either a domain of Angelic power, sent into the Abyss to monitor it's strength and ward Nexus against various demonic threats, or that it might even be the combined might of several Divinities that have managed to find a well of Heavenly power, a drop of the light of the Glory itself

>Whatever the truth may be, the sight of the Castle is gladly welcomed by all inhabitants of Nexus as a beacon of hope and true life in the Dark Despair

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The virtuous ancients come from a variety of worlds, and all date to times before the rise of formal religions, they release so much inner light that they can't be identified, because their faces are like the light of a sun, so they usually wear masks or other headwear that mutes the blinding light of personal virtue they have cultivated over aeons of time of their existence.

One particularly nasty layer of the infinite hells is the Jungle of Blades.

In the jungle of blades, every plant is made of metal, every leaf no matter how small or large is a blade, every grass is a stabbing point, every tree is a maze of sharp edges, every plant stem and branch is riddled with razor sharp thorns, razorwire vines like barbwire curl around virtually everything, iron vipers that drool fluid uranium out of their mouths prowl, iron tigers that breathe fire prowl, the only thing to eat or drink anywhere is a deadly fruit that is poisonous, scalding, and shreds the entrails of those who eat it, it rains fluid corpses 9 times a day torrentially, and it cycles in temperature, slowly growing so hot every piece of metal in the jungle is white hot, then steadily cooling in a strong wind so cold it carries inmates about like leaves, slamming and destroying them. Sentences in the jungle of blades range from 10,980 lifetimes to 30,893 million lifetimes.

In areas covered by the corpse, the corpse sweats out visible-mass droplets about as thick as syrup, which fall to the ground below, these droplets contain every disease that has ever existed, will ever exist, or could possibly ever exist, and the disease causing germs and bacteria live through the landing process (usually), and are infectious afterward. Not every area is however covered by the creature, and in some areas enough rot has gone through that there are huge holes in the top of the 'sky', floods of infinite bile, rancid pus, congealed blood, fluid corpses, and spoiled marrow rains down forever in a steady never ending downpouring 'waterfall' as it were.

>Fuhuhuhu....So you came all this way, through the Road of Thorns and past the Dreadbreed, all so you could find me, eh? I suppose you went through all that trouble to find me to have me teach you the accursed art of Abyssalurgy, eh? You insignificant welp, you dare to think yourself worthy of that power? The art of the Eight Shaded Priests? The sign of a Lordly will? The furious might to forge your ego in the heat of Hell itself? Very well, you cretin, I will teach it to you, but be prepared, for the knowledge alone will tear your very soul to pieces!

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Made in imitation of the internally infinite space within the Gates of Glory, Pandemonium is thought by some of the Nexus' convened occult scholars and metaphysicists to be the center of hell, as it were. While this hypothesis is controversial among their ranks, it does make some degree of sense, as the plane which on the outside resembles a flaming droplet of molten metal within contains a vast expanse stretching into a lightless black unreachable distance. Though visitors are rarely admitted, and even rarer to leave, the people of the Nexus know that is is there in the dark space, lit by their hellfires and disporting upon the inner surface of the bubble, the demon emissaries of an infinite number of hells and lords gather and hold council. It is here that one is most likely to feel the presence of the Notional Fiends all brought to a single plain, and where the Dragons and Generals and Dukes have their embassy thrones of haughty pride and grand display. Though it is a rare occasion that sees the horrible powers all gathered there together, Pandemonium is never empty of revelers and demonic propagandists, salesmen of damned souls and imperious aristocrats of the abyss, and all insist there is something that presides over this gathering, or will do so at some point, in the vast darkness that mounts as one strays from inward from the surface. According to the scholars that favor the theory, in the darkness at the unreachable center of pandemonium dwells Sin, INDOMITABLEUNCONQUEREDTRUESELF or its throne, an awful and malignant mockery of Glory.

On one rather historic occasion, emissaries of the great old ones and outer gods visited pandemonium, some remain as permanent guest visitors.

>Unlike the vast majority of plains, Pandemonium travels freely through the Unholy Infinite on the currents of the void, and it has passed through many plains, sometimes lingering for kalpa, sometimes passing with such swiftness and force it tears the plain asunder
>Its presence has been seen rising up from the bottom of Ashralak, and drifting about the punishers of Absolute Suffering as they did their work, in the halls of Excelsior at the bottom of the Pit of Dis
>It has alighted upon the processors of the Ignoble Machine Thought, and settled between neurons of Vile Intentions, Pandemonium has passed high in the sky of Eternal Misery, the only exciting thing in an eternity, and has been tossed by waves of slums as Postmortem churned and reshaped itself and its residents rioted in celebration beneath it.
>The closest Pandemonium has come to Nexus is the Falling Giant, the semi-independent plane above, but it was observed not to leave the surface of the massive corpse, and eventually drift into the storm of skyrot whirling above.

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Pandemonium was once a hell of torture like so many other hells, a place of punishment and cleansing of sin. But, according to ancient demon stories, three Great Demon Lords, Iglis the Primal Water, Behemot the Drinker of Worlds and Heth'Atur the Hand that Blackens the Stars, and a Great Dragon, V Y T "Behold Thy Wrath", marched onto Pandemonium with a combined army of twenty billion demons, and brought ruin to Pandemonium, and in it's ash, they built up this 'demon diplomatic' center, a place in Hell that belongs solely to these sinful creatures, where not even the servants of the Abyss may break into. The stories do not say what happened to those four great demons who marched into Pandemonium, but some believe they ascended to Notional, while others believe they marched deeper into Hell, cutting a swathe of infernal destruction like no other, and still do so to this day.

So the impression I have is that a game in this setting would be something between Dante's Inferno, Made in Abyss, and Blame!, where the party might even have access to continent breaking power on the scale of a magical GBE, but are in an uber-hostile environment that surpasses them utterly, and are on the run from infinite demons when they aren't in shelter being tricked by desperate survivors, dickish damned souls, and other sneakier demons as they try to get from one plane to another.

>Sin, whatever it may be, be it Satan, his Throne or some other thing, is the ultimate force within the vast expanse of Pandemonium, and presumably all of Hell itself, the entirety of the Abyss following it's utterly unknowable whims, even if they as a whole do not know it

>Such is the power of Sin that all of the Demon Lords and Archdemons, the Dread Dukes and Pit Fiends, the Great Dragons and their progenitors, even the Notional Fiends themselves quake in fear of it and it's judgement. And whilst it will almost never intercede upon the court meetings within Pandemonium, it's gaze is always felt, silent and eternal

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This story of course contradicts the popular (even among demons) theory that they are extensions of hell's nature, as are all species endemic to hell. In light of Hell's incorporation of external planes, some extend this to all creatures born in hell (outside of Nexus), while others assume Demons to be creatures independent of hell's nature but much more deeply tainted by its effects due to a relatively much longer time there.

>unlike notional fiends whose attentions are renowned for dire effects being the only mark of their passing, Sin's gaze is felt even without such intersections.
>It is however, a distinct feeling, often described as intimately knowing the presence and disinterested focus of indescribable, wise, and knowing malevolence

A-actually I came to see if maybe you wanted to do something this weekend, if you're not busy...

'indescribable wise and knowing malevolence' is what survivors of Vile Intentions' lightning arcs describe feeling for a moment during their experience.

If you want me to take you to pandemonium for a millennia out just ask, I don't feel like suggesting going out to the upper hells and having you shoot me down like usual

>Abyssalurgy, one of the ten Hell arts, are extremely powerful magical arts that were created in the Infinite Dread by those who are known as "Devils", entities of immense knowledge and magical might that they, supposedly, could bend Hell to their whim, at least a small aspect of it.
> Along with Abyssalurgy, there is Dread Sorcery, Necro Nobility, Primal Magic, Breedmastery, Lordliness, Thorn-agraphy, Doom Star Magics,Disparity and Black Knowledge
>To know even a tiny piece of one of these arts is to know immense power in Hell, and of course those entities of any merit or might in Hell are quite skilled in at least one of these arts (to know more than one is a feat all it's own, even for those of nobility or above)

>It is said that there has only been -one- occasion throughout the entirety of Hell's 'history' in which Sin chose to interfere within the going-ons of the Dread Eternity, and this was supposedly during one of the many court-meetings held within Pandemonium. A meeting within which all of the great demonic entities of the Abyss tore at each other, striking against one other with their various dark powers. This was a conflict in which the Demon Lords threw reality-searing curses against their own, where the Great Dragons opened their maws and engulfed everything and anything they could within their writhing oblivion, and where the Notional Fiends used their dreaded and horrific powers of anguish and devastation to the fullest of their abilities

>And it was in this conflict, that Sin, for the first and only time, chose to 'speak', and what was intoned was a single word, quietly whispered and seared into the very being of all within Hell;

>"Stop". And everything, the entirety of the Unholy Infinity, -stopped-

It was that day that, despite Hell's lack of real laws and logic, Pandemonium became the only realm in Hell where violence of any significance was impossible. Even the Notional Fiends with their conceptual might of unequaled devastation, can barely do more than scratch the occasional imp's nose. It is believed that Sin's singular word changed the very nature of Hell itself, an act not even the most powerful of conceptual horrors are capable of even attempting. This alone demonstrates just how incomprehensibly powerful Sin is.

Deception shelters, one room buildings that resemble a funeral urn in shape, are found in many hells. They come in 16 types. They look safe enough, but lock suddenly when entered, so it's run in, surprise door locked, die horribly. Deception Shelters move about regularly.

>1: Blades - the door locks and blades gradually extend inward from every surface.

>2: Burning - The building bursts into flames suddenly after the door locks.

>3: Melting - The building melts into magma after the door locks.

>4: Collapsing - The building suddenly mysteriously falls apart after the door locks.

>5: Gassing - Deadly toxic gas floods out of every crack chink and crevice inside the building after the doors lock.

>6: Boiling - Every interior surface seeps scalding water after the door locks.

>7: Shredding - Giant drillbits extend out of every surface and spin after the door locks.

>8: Razors - The interior becomes like a giant cuisinart after the door locks.

>9: Freezing - The interior freezes those locked in to death.

>10: Acid - Acid drips out of every surface after the door locks.

>11: Agony - The building turns into a giant hell being that digests and shits out those inside.

>12: Drowning - Every interior surface seeps fluid corpses after the door locks.

>13: Brutal - 2 effects at once.

>14: Barbaric - 3 effects at once.

>15: Smelter - Every interior surface drips molten metal after the door locks.

>16: Cooking - Every interior surface drips scalding hot radioactive water after the door locks.

Does sin have any direct relationship with vile intentions, boiling flesh, or ignoble machine thought?

>Abyssalurgy- The art of forging your ego in Hell, manipulating the unreal and crafting it into your desire
>Dread Sorcery- The art of controlling the twisted arcane energies of Hell to unleash immense destructive power. The most commonly known of the arts, mainly by the Demon Lords
> Necro Nobility- The art of commanding aspects of the dead through will and presence. A dangerous art, as Hell is filled with death, thus a user of this art would hold an incredible advantage in any situation
>Primal Magic- The art of bending the elements to your will. To master Primal Magic is to become part element yourself. To know Primal Magic is to specialize in one element, there have only been a very rare few that utilized multiple elements
>Breedmastery- The art of imbuing oneself with the might of their blood. The power of this art changes depending on what KIND of entity you are, but most commonly seen used by Great Dragons, which grants them their ability to devour (also likely linked to BECOMING a Great Dragon)
>Lordliness- The art of self, to impose your will and present your noble presence. A user of this art can turn their foes to cinder and ash with but a glance, and crumble armies with their stride. The rarest of the arts due to demonic entities not being very noble

No. Those three entities are demonic in nature, they are flesh, and metal and being, they are things that came into Hell and were twisted by it. Sin is something wholly different, it is not demonic in nature, which makes it alien to Hell's very atmosphere, it is power itself, might itself, it is the closest thing to a god within Hell's bosom.

as the guy that wrote up the pandemonium bit, no, its a deific throne like Glory in heaven, but its nature would let its master effect hell across its history once taking the throne.

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Those beings are still bound by the laws of Hell, they still have form and connection, no matter how vast they may be. Whereas Sin simply is, for it is beyond all notions of being or conceptions of existence. Sin Is, and so Hell obeys.

I'm sure Sin is aware of their actions and perhaps their grander role in existence, however. Most beings are aware of their existence, as all three of them have multiple conglomerations of mass that are much, much larger than a galaxy. There are hells that have been utterly taken over by any one of these beings, to the point that those hells don't receive any inmates because every available particle of mass is one of these three beings. That is what is believed, but the reality is far worse; if you are sent to a hell currently completely filled in this way, you still land there, you just manifest already inside one of these three beings. And there are other gigantic strange beings of this nature too, each having something to do with the existence, effect, influence, or after-effect of evil deeds thoughts and feelings.

>Thorn-agraphy- The art of "reading thorns". The art utilized by shamans and witches in Hell. It is far more than just reading thorns, of course, that is just a term for manipulating the natural flora and fauna of Hell. Probably the easiest to learn, as it is just study rather than some immense magical undertaking (still a rarity simply by being an art)
>Doom Star Magics- The art of using the dreadful night suns of Hell to cast spells. The night suns are black holes that Hell has swallowed, which number in the hundreds, and act as a sort of "night sky" for Hell. By becoming a conduit of the cosmic destruction these stars make up, Doom Star sorcerers can bend space and time (due to the nature of Hell, space and time are extremely malleable with enough power) The end goal of Doom Star sorcerers is to align themselves with the Doom Star, a black hole that has swallowed so much of Hell's energies and entities that is has become a well of unspeakable power (but in the same vein, an unprepared sorcerer who attempts to align themselves with the Doom Star will find themselves swallowed by their own soul)
>Disparity- The art of difference. Those who possess the art of Disparity can upset the very balance of Hell's strength. It is rumored only a single demon is known to possess the art of Disparity, but who knows
>Black Knowledge- The art of knowing. To know the black art is to know power that is alien to Hell. Supposedly knowledge from earth realms, outside earth realms or even Heaven itself, or all of the above. To use this art is to command immense power simply by knowing, whether it be intricate rituals, words of power, or runic formula. Black Knowledge is also the art of the mind, and to delve into it without a strong enough ego is to invite disaster for yourself.

>The ten arts, to wield even a speck of their power is to be feared and respected, but that same power will tear your soul to pieces.

One of the strangest of hell's hideous denizens is the Abyss Claw. A demon who's entire body consists of a mobile hole, one big arm, and a claw.

If it catches you on a floor, you are instantly teleported to a lower more complex hell, if on a wall, you are instantly teleported to a random location inside the same hell, and if on a ceiling, instantly teleported up to a less complex but more horrible hell. These beings conglomerate near already existing gateways, and may have conventional bodies that exist in some form of sub dimension, as their arm and claw are made of traditional organic material.

Do specters, ghosts who are close servants of one specific demon (as in house servants of a specific demon, not all under the same demon), use any of these arts? They are drawn from the most evil of sinners, and are very different from a traditional ghost, as they show permanent signs of torture (such as permanent injuries, scalding chains, amputated parts, etc).

>Glory is what was left behind when the creator, whatever that may be, left, to who knows where
>Sin is what was left behind when Satan was devoured by Hell
Damn, this universe is wack, heaven and hell and theres not a single thing at the helm to steer them

Can you steer a tidal wave? No being, even the most powerful beings in the universe, can truly steer either hell or heaven.

Anything can use the arts, but not everything will be capable of it. A specter certainly could learn to use an art, though it's very unlikely due to specters are servants, which implies weakness, and the weak cannot use the arts, since it would literally tear them to pieces. But who knows, there could be some immense Demon Lord or Great Dragon who has a specter that possesses an art, infinite possibilities.

>Can you steer a tidal wave
Yes. Quite easily so.

t. user of Primal Water

I would imagine there are some very trusted very elite specters out there, some are so trusted and capable they are regularly sent to earth regions to act on behalf of their demonic masters.

Yeah, thats the kind of shit where some cultist summons a demon and gets a ghost
>"I am acting on behalf of my master, he is currently embroiled in a war and cannot take your summons, my apologize"

Right, though these ghosts are more like the inmates dante met, false councilors are cloaked in hellfire, traitors are ice mummy looking, usurers wear chains and pay-chests, etc. They're discussed more fully in the previous two threads.

>Everything in Hell is dead, anything that isn't dead is naturally born in Hell.
>Except for one thing.
>The people of Nexus, and the entities of Hell refer to it as "The Journeyman" A living, breathing person, who has stepped into Hell.
>Through unknown means, this Journeyman has been traveling Hell for untold years, he holds no weapon, speaks no spells,and does nothing to fight or compete with the denizens of Hell, nor does he take any injury or danger, by unknown means he has never been hurt or even threatened by the nightmares of Hell
>The only thing he does is travel, seemingly recording what he sees in Hell. In some cases, he has been sighted talking to a white ribbon fluttering in the wind, that vanishes without a trace, and he continues his journey

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Tormented Viscera exists, a being created to house the pain sensations and pleasure sensations of evildoers and their victims at the moment of evil deeds. Like boiling flesh and vile intentions, Tormented Viscera's main visible action is simply slowly steadily get bigger at the rate of 5 inches an hour. The creature's main configuration is a mass of bloated, complex organs which throb, flex, clench, and transfer fluids between each other visibly, extending tendrils which join together to form new and more horrifying organs steadily. Tormented Viscera jolts and wretches in agony at the slightest touch, and the fluids it circulates are the thoughts and emotions of evildoers and their victims, excreting these as fluid, solid, or gas steadily, as it is meant only to house the pleasure and pain sensations of evildoers and their victims, not thoughts or feelings. Those who are exposed to tormented viscera's excretions experience a horrifying moment of psycho-agony where bits and pieces of evildoers and victims experiences collaborate to make one big false memory they are suddenly inside for a painful, sometimes deadly, moment. Interestingly, Tormented Viscera is able to 'join up' with Vile Intentions in a symbiotic existence, though this is always by chance and never planned, it just happens when and where it happens, as both Tormented Viscera and Vile Intentions, (and Boiling Flesh) are extremely large, far larger than a galaxy, and are steadily slowly 'invading' many different layers of hell at any given moment.

Even among the most evil, violent, despised, maniacal, depraved, and just plain shitty inmates in hell, the journeyman is a welcome sight, for when he passes them by, their torments stop or greatly recede for a moment. No one understands why this is.

Make no mistake, there are other magics and powers within Hell, things even simple ghosts can do without trouble, the ten arts are just the really good shit.

As the creator of Ignoble Machine Thought, it's neat that it's still being talked about and is a major character in this lore.

The main powers of specters
>Heresiarch - Rewriting: magical brainwashing, memory altering, and belief altering

>Usurer - Minting: Stealing thoughts dreams memories and ideas to make physical object coinage with it.

>Counterfeiters - Devaluating: Making objects steadily more counterfeit and fraudulent until they have no value at all.

>False Councilors - Entreating: Use magic to force compliance to anything you successfully get an agreement on.

>Falsifiers - Insertion: Enter dreams/memories of targets and alter the dreams/memories by being their and taking actions.

>Schismatics - Sowing: Exacerbate dislike disagreement, distrust, and conflict simply by existing.

>Murderers - Brutalizing: Enter dreams/memories and turn them into savage nightmares of extreme violence against the dreamer/rememberer.

>Liars - Oiling: Alter perception so that lies become truths and truths become lies.

>Traitors - Treasoning: send treasonous impulses, be aware of all treasonous thoughts around you.

Does ignoble machine thought consume any form of fuel?

In some hells the roof is the giant corpse from earlier in this thread, but in others it is something else. Most of these types of roof produce a steady light drizzle at all times.

>1: Monstrous fangs - drip scalding acid poison in a continuous slow drip

>2: Wretched Icicles - steady slow drip of freezing puss.

>3: Downward pointing blades - steady slow drip of fluid glass.

>4: Torn open flesh - rancid bile and blood

>5: Writhing decapitated heads - tears, bile, blood.

>6: Impaled rotting bodies - rancid fluids, bits and pieces of flesh, maggots.

>7: Red hot stone - Burning chunks, lava

>8: Cracked open skulls - scalding vinegar

It absorbs pain and suffering from other layers, pain is an energy source in Hell after all.

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I could see playing in this setting as playing two different styles. As a normal soul, a resident of Nexus perhaps, which would be likely more survival and hiding from shit and surviving against the nightmarish environment, or playing as a damned soul, and being focused on ekeing out some life in this shithole, growing stronger and more monstrous as you do

Very early in a thread it was mentioned that pain is in some way limited and that it has an affect on a person's time in hell, if Ignoble Machine Thought absorbs someone's pain, does it increase their time in hell, since they might have to 'do over' the pain?

I could see some sort of huge dark souls you die over and over and over type journey in which you learn that there is in fact some type of escape from hell, it's just utterly impossibly hard that very very few manage it.

Oh no, there are easy ways to escape Hell, numerous ways in fact.
You can slip through a hole into an earth realm, or get summoned from Hell
It's just those methods are temporary, and the only real escape is to take your punishment, which leads to oblivion.
Also I don't think revival would make sense, once you die in Hell you're done. Maybe there some method of bringing back a dead soul with the arts, but only a recently dead soul and with extensive knowledge of the art in particular.

Earlier in threads it was mentioned that in some hells you have a 'sentence' of X number of deaths, before you get 'out'. Granted, these numbers are numbers like 59,000 thousand million or 180,530 thousand billion, but you do get out eventually.

In Ashralak a lifespan is only 4 gasps of pain, in absolute suffering a lifespan is only 6 gasps of pain.

Seems sensible to me to suppose that reincarnation is in play, and that if you get all your badness tortured out of you and get 'cleaned up' finally, you do eventually get out.

But now that I think about it, maybe there is revival ala Souls, so even killing yourself in Hell isn't an escape. Maybe dying robs you of your power, making it easier to be captured and punished, but if you can escape you can build yourself up again, or if you're revived quickly enough you can return without losing any or most of your power.

I thought an earlier post mentioned that being cleansed eventually just leads to Hell absorbing you.

So heres the question.

Is revival only in play in hell regions where dying over and over again is part of the torment, or, is it in play for every soul in hell?

I may have missed that bit. However since hell is infinite, it could work both ways at the same time, with some regions sending you to nonexistence once you're clean and some regions sending you off to the more normal earthly regions after you're clean.

I say it's in play for everyone. If it's part of a torture, then it's more than just death, it's punishment, if it's not part of a hell realm, then you just get killed and come back to life after some time.

>In Hell, giving your word means nothing, lying is as common as breathing, however, the act of trading favors is different. If you offer a favor to someone, they own your soul, practically. They can call upon that favor, and you will be bound to do so, what that favor may be, depends on powerful the other soul is. If you borrow a favor from particularly powerful demons or souls, they can force you to perform any act they ask of, even taking their punishment in their place. Thus favors are not to be asked for lightly in Hell.

The only time giving your word really means much of anything is if you give it to a False Councilor, a specter who's domain is the ruin of leadership and who appears as a ghost entirely obscured by waves of ghost-flames.

Their power of entreating allows them to call down immense magical forces to quite literally force you to keep your word.

As such, it is very common for meetings of diplomatic nature in Hell to be accompanied by such spectres, some demons consider then to be "contracts with minds of their own"

What demons use specters for, in my mind.

>Heresiarchs - Psy-ops
>Usurers - Financial needs
>Counterfeiters - sabotage missions
>False Councilors - Diplomatic staff
>Schismatics - some forms of black ops
>Murderers - Interrogation, fighting
>Liars - Brainwashing
>Traitors - some forms of black ops

>The majority of demonic entities in Hell employ spectres as assistance and tools , major entities usually have entire gangs of spectres working for then. But there are some particularly nasty demons who, rather than employing a spectre, devour the sinful ghost itself and integrate their abilities into themselves.
>While this seems like a good idea, mixing souls like this is bad in the long run, as it not only adds to their sinful nature, but multiple egos blending into one can cause horrific demonic mutations.
>Thus these particular kinds of demons, while extremely useful for their skills, are risky to deal with, or be.

That sounds likely to go on, you can see what the specters actual powers are at

Name: Hycrucs Ull Thorn "The Destroyer King, The Nail, The Fleshling Engineer"
Tier: Great Demon Lord
Size: Medium
Stats
Power: 7/10
Knowledge: 6/10
Influence: 7/10
Possessions: 4/10
Skills
Hell Art: Dread Sorcery Rank 7
Hell Art: Breedmastery Rank 6
Hell Art: Abyssalurgy Rank 8
Sunken Stone Fighting Arts
Nightmare Visage
Overwhelming Power
Lordly Will
Rapid Recruitment
Lordly Estate
Reputation.

So here's the current 'hierachy' for Hell so far;
>Sin/INDOMITABLEUNCONQUEREDTRUESELF/Hell Itself
>The Notional Fiends
>Great Demonic Powers (Demon Lords, Archdemons, Great Dragons, and the like)
>Seven Generals
>Spectres (special cases notwithstanding)
>Ghosts
>Basic Hell wildlife
>Untainted mortal souls, such as those in Nexus. Individual cases notwithstanding of course
>

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>Strange "little people" have started appearing all across Nexus, each of them bearing equally strange gifts, but all of which seem to possess seem benevolent and protective quality to them

>Sir Grim and the Good Doctor seem to recognize these beings and regularly talk to them as if they were the oldest of friends

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>Hell Art: Abyssalurgy
>When you take Hell Art: Abussalurgy, reduce Power by 1 and increase Knowledge by 1
>Spell List-
Rank 1:
Abyssal Touch: Imbue hellish energies into your attacks, blighting your foes
Ego Mold: Draw in the raw unreal of Hell and bind it into a simple object of low quality.
Ego Manipulation: Grasp hold of simple objects with your will and manipulate it
Ego Break: Destroy simple objects with your will alone
Rank 2:
Abyssal Forging: Take hold of the unreal around you and forge a weapon or object from the nothing
Abyssal Thunder: Grasp the unreal about you and heat it into pure destruction
Dreadful Studies: Observe an object and channel the Abyss through yourself to learn the objects origins and make-up
Rank 3:
Deep Breaths: Absorb a breath of unreal into your lungs and mold it to refresh your wounds
Inner Shell: Absorb the energies of Hell through your body and forge an unreal armor beneath the skin
Soul Searching: Focus your senses and discover any disturbances in the abyssal energy around you
Rank 4:
Cry from Hell: Focus the unreal within your throat and roar out an explosion of shifting matter in front of you
Ego Landscaping: Focus your will within the land around you and alter your surroundings with your very thoughts
Rank 5:
Red Anvil Within Your Heart: Through intense training and mastery of the arts, forging objects of larger sizes and weapons of various types are as simple as breathing
Sorcerous Smithing: Imbue an object with a spell, either of your own creation or from another
Soul Smithing: Draw the unreal deeper within and coat the soul with a shield
Expanded Self: Expand the senses to detect powerful disturbances across the whole layer
Rank 6:
Tiny Men: Your mastery of the arts have allowed you to forge false souls from the unreal energies, and grant small objects and weapons sentience
Pound Out The Dents: Force the unreal into another, treating their wounds

Rank 7:
Purify: Use your mastery of the material to reforge an object, whether it was made by yourself or another, into something greater. Destroys arcane enchantments in the process
Ego Shatter: Destroy larger sized objects and weapons with your will alone
Beating Heart of the Forge: No object or weapon is out of your league. Create things from nothing in the blink of an eye, as much as you desire, even at a distance. The unreal is yours to play with.
Drown the Rats: Force the unreal into a foe and solidify it, damaging them from within
Rank 8:
Rework the Design: Your mastery of the arts has unlocked the power to alter the flesh and souls of others. Even the living are now but tools to work between your fingers
Tin Soldiers: You can now forge false souls to imbue larger objects and weapons with sentience, as well as imbue yourself with 'scape souls' as a defense
Falsify: Coat an object or individual with the unreal and forge it in a way to create a false identity. Even soul magic will be fooled by the disguise
Peel the Layers Away: Fuel your forge with the layer itself, tearing away a piece of it and crafting a miniature layer of your design
Rank 9:
Abyssal Rot: Kill your foes with an excruciating influx of hellish energies that melt their very flesh to nothing
Enemy from Within: Forge whatever you desire within another's body, be it an object, a weapon, a sentient object, a false soul, whatever it may be.
Ego Drink: Sever the ego from another, rendering them inanimate. You may then implant the ego in an object, another person, or just let it scatter to the winds
Unmake: Destroy another entity of lesser strength then yourself, breaking them down into nothing but their soul

Rank 10:
Men From Mana: Draw the unreal from miles around and forge an army in a few seconds, each with false souls of their own.
Forge Master: Forge an object that can never be destroyed, even by the most powerful forces of Hell. Said object can ignore logic or physics completely.
Realm Break: Shatter a layer, regardless of what kind of layer
Cradle of Life: Draw the unreal and create a living creature, with a true soul and an ego. You are now within the realm of the divine.
Exit: Craft a door out of Hell into an earth realm of your choice anywhere at any time
Layer: Craft a layer out of the unreal to your own design
True Enchantment: Imbue an object or another entity with anything in Hell you can reach. The object/entity is granted the properties of whatever it is you chose
One with the Abyss: Detect any kind of disturbance across all of Hell

This has come great stuff. Also it shows just how much any being in Hell worth their salt eclipses any regular force that tries to oppose their might.

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There could of course be more spells, those are just the ones I could think up, and a way to show each ranks sort of power level.

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>Hell Art: Dread Sorcery
>When you take Hell Art: Dread Sorcery, reduce Power by 1 and increase Knowledge by 1
>Spell List-
Rank 1:
Dread Born: You align yourself with the dreadful magics of the Unholy Infinite, you can perceive others capable of casting Dread Sorcery when you see them
Vile Shock: Release a burst of maleficent energy, causing a stunning pain
Nasty: Inflict a simple trauma on the foe
Night Fire: Summon a small plume of pitch black fire capable of searing the soul
Detect Arcane: A simple trick, by simply focusing on an object, a sorcerer can tell if it it magic in any way
Rank 2:
Dread Aspect: Just by inhabiting the power of the dreadful infinite, the sorcerer can present an imposing figure to the weak of will
Dreadful Chill: Inflict a biting cold from within the foe
Baleful Voice: Speak a dreadful word that can disrupt the soul itself
Rank 3:
Pitiful Thing: Drawing the arcane energies together, the sorcerer creates a familiar, a small, grotesque servant capable of simple tasks. The familiar has no soul or ego, but is an extension of the sorceror's soul and ego
Soul Grasp: Grab hold of a weakened foe's soul, inflicting intense pain and paralyzing them
Specter Sense: Using your dreadful power, you can detect any nearby ghosts, if used on a specter in eyesight, you can tell a little about the demon commanding it
Nightmare: Inflict a horrifying image upon a foe that is sure to startle them
Rank 4:
Dread Self: After sufficiently drinking in the power of the dreadful magics, a sorcerer can detect others of their kind within the area, as well as any magical objects nearby
Midnight Fire: Summon forth a large swell of black flame capable of burning the soul
Dread Bolt: Grasp a handful of pure hellish energies and hurl it as a crashing stream of blinding power
Inscribe: Carve the dark words of a spell into a piece of rock, creating a spell stone that can be used by others
Mind Crush: Shatter a foe's thoughts, making them reel in confusion

Rank 5:
Homestead: Concentrate the arcane energies about you and create a small home with simple furnishings, when commanded the home will appear or disappear freely.
Filth: Inflict a terrible trauma on the foe, whether it be ego, body or soul
Pry Secrets: Speak in a dark tongue, interrogating a bound target with torment until they answer up to three questions
Hell Ice: Summon a fearsome ice on the foe's soul, freezing them from within
Rank 6:
Horror Aspect: After being bathed in the dark art for so long, those who look upon you are struck with terror if their wills are not steeled
Depressive Cretin: Either create a greater familiar, or increase your current familiar to a greater state. The greater familiar is capable of more complex orders.
Heart Grasp: Grab hold of the foes soul and crush it, inflicting immense damage to them, if not outright kill them
Impose Logic: Force a law into being within the area, all within that area must obey that law till it fades
Rank 7:
Ruinous Heat: Craft a thunderous pitch black heat that can be freely shaped, the flame is intense enough to melt flesh and bone
Ruinous Cold: Call forth a blistering wind that blows through any defense to freeze all in it's path
Epitaph: Call upon the last moments of a souls death to leave them shaken and disturbed
Pry Fears: Call upon the dark art to pull out a foes deepest fears
Hocus Pocus: Wreath the arcane magics to create illusions, anything from sight, sound, smells and sensations can be changed.
Manor: Create or upgrade your home into a magnificent manor of your design with high quality furnishings and several servants

Rank 8:
Ruin: Call forth a pillar of destruction, vaporizing anything caught within
Unspeakable Aspect: You are now so immersed in the Dread Magics that just looking at you will shatter the minds of most. If you wish to spare the weak, you may draw back your aspect until needed
Ghost Hunt: Create a sphere of spectral flame that can capture ghosts with ease and trap them within
Soul Taker: Peel the soul of a weak and bound foe from their body
Soul Swap: Remove your own soul and replace it with anothers (even a ghost), your soul will be safety hidden in some manner of container on your person, and any attacks that target the soul will hurt the new soul
Rank 9:
Imprison: Seal a foe of weaker strength than yourself within an object
Uncast: Destroy a spell cast by another sorcerer of similar or weaker skill
Might Breaker: Drain the strength from a foe, taking their Power stat down by three (cannot drop past 1)
Mind Breaker: Drain the knowledge from a foe, taking their Knowledge stat down by three (cannot drop past 1)
Rank 10:
One With Power: You can stop any other spell casters from casting as long as they are on the same layer as you
Infinite Cast: Mastery over the manipulation of magical energies has allowed you to keep a spell going indefinitely, breaking any limitations it may have as well
Dreadful Ally: Summon or upgrade a familiar to the same level as yourself, allowing you to be two sorcerers at once
Oblivion: Twist the dread magics in ways never seen before, producing a space of pure destruction anywhere you choose, wiping out whatever is touched
Kingdom: Create or upgrade your home into a town all it's own, the town will have whatever you want within it and as many servants as you desire. Anything that happens within the town you know of
Exit: Create a door out of Hell into an earth realm of your choice
Law Writer: Impose your will into a layer and force logic and physics to obey your whim

Addition
>Rank 6
>Life Crafter: Through an elaborate crafting session, you can use the unreal to draw a soul back into it's dead body. The process takes several hours, but at the end the target will be returned to life without having lost much power from their death

>Rank 6
>Drawing Breath: Through a deep, dark series of incantations and motions, the sorcerer can draw a soul back into it's dead body. The process takes several hours, but at the end the target will be returned to life without having lost much power from their death

>It is said that there is a figure of red moving thorugh the endless layers of Hell, with malign purpose, sniffing out any sign of light that he may find throughout the Abyss

>None can truly tell who he is, but it is whispered within the courts of the great Demon Lords that it may be the long thought-destroyed Lord Of Despair, Nahirimia Tenelogos, "The Cirmson Tear Of Oblivion".

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>Hell Art: Breedmastery
>When you take Hell Art: Breedmastery, reduce Power by 1 and increase Knowledge by 1
>Spell List-
Rank 1
I Am That I Am: Your blood is your power, draw forth the might of your breed
>Mortal Soul- Imbued with the power of purification, weakening demonic entities
>Ghosts- Imbued with the power of the soul, attacks that are not spectral or magical in nature cannot harm you, and all your attacks hit the soul directly
>Demon- Imbued with the power of savagery, physical attacks will be more destructive
>Dragon- Imbued with the power of hunger, you now have the power to devour most things
>Notional Fiend- Imbued with the power of conceptual, only magical attacks can harm you
Blood Bond: Your connection to your art, which flows through your blood, allows you to sense others of your breed, and if any around you know Breedmastery as well
Rank 2:
Cast from Blood: If you are facing one of your own breed, their defenses are slightly weakened to your attacks
Rank 3:
Aspectual Breed: Integrate an aspect of another of your same breed (example: Growing horns like another demon when you had none)
Rank 4:
Breed Power: Grant a powerful weapon of your breed
>Mortal Soul- Indomitable Self- Shrug off weak traumas and statuses through your determined soul
>Ghosts- Self Specter- Obtain the power of a Specter without being bound to a demon master
>Demon- Sinful Beast- Take on a raging state, increasing your strength and durability and mental resistance
>Dragon- Dragon's Flame- Obtain the power to breath oblivion out in a stream
>Notional Fiend- Storm Self- Take the form of a weather condition, this is how you can travel and interact with Hell
Rank 5:
Expanded Aspect: Your blood has thickened, the power granted by your breed has grown

I like the idea of Sin/Satan being this enigmatic and abstract figure that even the other lords and daemons of Hell are afraid of.

>Upon the Abrudian Plains, the ash-soaked expanse of dying greys and sooten hills, was where the angel Galisingel was struck down by the hand of a greater daemon lord.

>Upon learning of the capture and slaughter of several of his constituents by Fiend-lord Asrodiel during the First Tribulation, Galisingel was overcome by wrath and set forth alone into the Plain to challenge him to combat. He arrived on the Plane as Asrodiel's forces celebrated their victory.

>So great was the might of his righteous wrath that swathes of Asrodiel's armies seemed to burn away from him like blades of grass to an inferno. Asrodiel sent forth his greatest champion and watched in amusement from his citadel, but was struck silent as Galisingel slew his champion in one blow.

>The daemon lord marched forth to confront Galisingel himself, and that battle is still spoke of in whispers by the damned inhabitants of the Abrudians. All his anger could not save the angel, and he fell, though as Asrodiel prepared the fatal blow, bitter mockery in his voice, one last flash of infernal rage consumed Galisingel, and a great blast seemed to consume both Asrodiel and the angel alike.

>The angel perished, Asrodiel did not, but it was said the cries of his agony echoed unto the very ends of the ashen expanse, and echo distantly to this day.

>In that spot a great tree sprouted much later, pale grey with amber-burning leaves perpetually swaying in the plains' wind. Asrodiel himself attempted to malign the tree continuously, even calling upon the power of a notional fiend, yet even their might could not destroy that tree, the only one of its kind in the barren and infinite expanse.

>Galisingel's Stand, as it came to be known, has remained a source of irritation for the fiends, and for Asrodiel, it is said he constructed an impenetrable tomb about it to conceal it from his visage, as any glance he took sent unbearable, scorching pain throughout his person.

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Rank 6:
Breed Lord: Due to the power in your blood, those of your breed that are beneath your might are more likely to follow your command
Mixed Breed: Your control of your blood has allowed you to alter your breed slightly. You can take an aspect from another breed you are witnessing, to a degree
Life Breeds Life: By focusing your mastery of the bloodline, you can pull the soul of your own breed back into it's dead body. The process takes several hours, but at the end the target will be returned to life without having lost much power from their death
Rank 7:
Sharpened Fangs: Your blood has solidified, the weapon granted by your breed has grown
Blood Pack: Through careful administration of your power, you may draw another into your breed
Rank 8:
Boundary Breaker: By carefully imbibing the power of another breed (excluding Dragons and Notional Fiends) you can become that breed freely
True Aspect: Anything that your breed can do, you can too
Breed Hunter: You can find another breed of your choice by focusing on their blood. Focus deeper on a specific individual and you can hone in on their location

Rank 9:
Dragon Scales: You can now become a Dragon
Blood King: With your near mastery of your breed, you can draw it's true power forth
>Mortal Soul- Light In The Dark- Imbue your soul with a mighty light. You are immune to corruption and the agonizing nature of Hell no longer effects you
>Ghosts- Soul Meister- Your soul is invincible, attacks that damage the soul no longer effect you. You can also invade another's soul if they are weaker than you and take over their body
>Demon- War Aspect- Take a form suited for slaughter, multiple limbs, larger body, tougher hide, whatever you desire for combat
>Dragon- True Nobility- Your presence demands respect and any weaker entities will be unable to attack out of fear
>Notional Fiend- Unreachable Heights- Imbue yourself with an aspect of power, that is now your basic nature and will effect the world in your presence (ie. The Violence causing horrifying death as it passes)
Rank 10:
Ascend: Your blood is weak, you must seek greater heights than ever before. You can now become a Notional Fiend

I'm sorry how crappy these spells are, I kind of ran into a mental road block and couldn't think of any other spells to put in this art

>Great Dragons are a form normal demons will rarely ever have a chance to become, they are revered, feared, and in some layers, worshiped. They are power in physical form, able to devour worlds, with the liquid hot white plume of oblivion in their bellies. They are being of such might that they have earned the right to draft about Hell without any fear of retribution, the denizens of Hell cannot do much against a Great Dragon, after all. It would take several Demon Lords and their armies to even threaten a Great Dragon, in fact the only threat to a Great Dragon are other Dragons and Notional Fiends. Thus these beasts lazily drift through the infinite, their pride and nobility swollen to burst

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>I'm sorry how crappy these spells are, I kind of ran into a mental road block and couldn't think of any other spells to put in this art
Don't be friend. You'd did a pretty great job all in all, and if anything, I'll probably try and expand on these in the morning if the thread is still up.

>Great Demon Lords are the peak of demonic power a soul can achieve without ascending, it is the end goal of most demons, ghosts or specters in Hell, as to be a Demon Lord is to be lordly, to harness the darkest and fiercest powers of Hell at your command, to have hoards of demons flock to your command. Though there are many Lords, each one is still a power all their own enough to make Hell shake at their approach. Though the Lords of Infinity are above reproach from the common riffraff, and even the punishments of Hell are too weak to touch them, to be a Lord is to enter a new world of danger, the world of control. Lords are never at peace, as they are always at war with each other, vying to attain one ounce of strength above their foes. Those referred to as Great Demon Lords are different in their might and military power, and usually reside in Postmortem, fighting to take control of the massive cityscape.

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Yes, feel free to expand or even move spells around if you believe it fits better. Between Breedmastery and Disparity, I am kind of at a loss for how to flesh their powers out.

>Archdemons are Hell's super predators. In Hell, there are natural flora and fauna, an odd sight to be sure, but life does thrive in the Infinite Despair. As such, even the life of Hell can attain power. While most demons and souls pay little mind to the native life of Hell, occasionally, a creature of Hell's ecosystem is able to crawl and bite and fight it's way from being a simple beast. These creatures, with any luck, will continue this path, until they step out as something wholly different. An Archdemon, a native life form of Hell that has attained power unrivaled. An Archdemon will be a creature with a beastly way of seeing their world, wild, untamed, brutal, even by demon standards. And while they are not smart enough to be military leaders or sorcerers, they make up for it with their sheer power, durability, and their command of the wildlife. It's easy to laugh at the idea until you have more than a billion Night Screamers diving down on your army from the skies, ripping their eyes out as a wall of Behemoth Brutes come stampeding down from the hills, all lead by the wild command of an Archdemon.

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>The Notional Fiends. What happens when a demon attains a level of power and knowledge at such a level that their physical form can no longer contain the sheer volume of might within? Ascension. The unholy word that thousands of demons across Hell worship in their souls, and dream in their nightmares of being able to reach that beautiful word. Ascension from the flesh, from this sinful cycle. When a demon ascends, they shed the flesh and expand the ego, the soul becoming abstract and untamed, the become Notional. What Notional Fiends are is hard to describe simply, they are rare, that can be said, but each one has encompassed their entire existence as a concept, pain, suffering, mistrust, destruction, whatever they choose to become, they become it utterly. In Hell, Notional Fiends are truly untouchable. The only stories of Notional Fiends being harmed by something other than a Notional Fiend are considered fairy tales, that is how impossible the task is, for to attack a Fiend is to attack a thought, a breeze, a storm. In Hell, the Fiends drift like weather patterns throughout Hell, leaving havoc in their wake, drinking upon the power of Hell and it's denizens.

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