A Planar Guide to the Underworld
Introduction
The Underworld is the realm of Naeron, the God of Death of Aerde. Here reside the memories and knowledge of every being that has ever lived and died on Aerde, who inhabit the Underworld in a number of forms.
Summary
The Underworld is contiguous with both the material plane and the negative energy plane. It intersects the Realm of Beher and its borders touch the astral plane. A Portal exists between the Underworld and the Home plane of each of the other Gods of Aerde that only allows the passage of the souls of the dead from the underworld to their destination.
The Underworld has 2 planar elements. There is the physical manifestation of the Underworld which is an infinite plane with conditions generally similar to Aerde and a non physical manifestation called Reverie, which is an infinite plane with a heavily altered time stream.
Upon death the souls of all intelligent creatures pass through the gateway to the Underworld, at a spiritual level this gateway can be entered from all places in Aerde but it also has a physical connection with the realm of Paludosus, and can be entered there both by the living and the dead.
The physical Underworld is the domain of the worshippers of Naeron and of those who have recently died. All those who die pass through the Gateway to the Underworld, which for the dead can be reached from all parts of Aerde. Their memories are absorbed into the fabric of the Underworld and the dead are then assessed by one of the 9 Lords of Judgement, those whose faith was strong may pass on to the realm of their patron deity if they so choose or if they choose otherwise, or served no particular patron, they may remain in the Underworld or enter the realm of Reverie, to pass eternity dreaming a new reality for themselves.
The Physical Underworld has the following planar characteristics:
Size: Infinite
Alignment Trait: None (see the entry for Dominion below).
Energy Trait: None (see the entry for the Plains of Sleepless Dead below).
Time Trait: Normal
Reverie has the following planar characteristics:
Size: Infinite
Alignment Trait: None.
Energy Trait: None.
Time Trait: Altered; 1 minute in Reverie equals one year on Aerde.
The Underworld
The Underworld bears a passing resemblance to the world of Aerde with a number of very obvious changes, the most marked are the perpetual half-light that illuminates the landscape, which makes colour less vibrant and more drab, and the lack of any noticeable weather.
The Eternal Swamps
This vast area, covering hundreds of thousands of square miles, is the home to the Lizardfolk and Troglodyte worshippers of Naeron, here they can pass their afterlife in fertile swamps, free from the dangers and perils that they experienced during their lifetime, at the centre of the swamps is the metropolis that contains the Wells of Knowledge.
The Wells of Knowledge
This city exists to contain all the knowledge of Aerde, here the scholars among the worshippers of Naeron can seek for, and study, every piece of knowledge that has ever been discovered, recorded or taught by mortal minds.
The Fields of War
This area of the Underworld is the gathering place of warriors, here the Dracon Ulstansi, the champions of Naeron, fight by day in the arenas or on the field of battle as mighty armies clash, by night they drink and feast restored and healed of any wounds.
The Realm of Sleepless Dead
These are an expanse of grey dusty lands that lie at the borders of the Underworld and the Astral Plane, they are the habitation of those whose bodies have existed as intelligent Undead, thus tainting their souls. The connections between the Negative Energy Plane and the Underworld are at their strongest here and numerous Undead can also be found here. Numerous small areas within the borders of the Realm of Sleepless Dead manifest a mild negative energy trait.
The Realm of Beher
This area of featureless grey plains occupies the area taken by Beher, at its borders it is possible to travel between the Underworld and Domain. Inside the borders the land is empty and barren and has a strong lawful alignment trait and all magic is suppressed.
Reverie
Reverie is an incorporeal existence that underlies the Underworld, here a being can dream the afterlife that they feel they deserve, and to them that dream is reality. Time flows much slower in Reverie than in the mortal realm or Underworld, for every minute that passes in the Reverie a year passes in Aerde. Here a soul can rejoin its lost friends and relatives and live forever in perfect moments of joy or sadness. The souls of the dead can pass freely between the Underworld and Reverie, this process takes a full-round action in the Underworld to perform during which time the soul gradually fades out of existence as it leaves and then appears in the other plane. The living may not travel to Reverie.
Reverie cannot be accurately categorised in any meaningful way as the experiences of any inhabitant are totally subjective and others may not affect this reality unless the soul so wishes. Within Reverie there are idyllic farms, great cities, peaceful forests, vast grasslands where countless wolves hunt, places of darkness and torment and many other individual heavens and hells. To travel between these places all that one must have is the desire to arrive at ones destination, if it exists the soul will travel to it, if it does not exist it will create itself around the soul. Knowledgeable Sages state that Reverie is actually the mind of Naeron itself and its inhabitants live within his dreams and memories.
Domina’s Rest
There is one known static area of Reverie, here the soul of Domina, the Goddess of Beauty slain by Beher, resides in a palace of breathtaking beauty, attended by the souls of her worshippers and surrounded by a great park and endless forests.
Inhabitants of the Underworld
Upon death the Souls of the dead travel to the Underworld, as they enter the Underworld their life essence and memories are incorporated into the mind of Naeron and their soul takes on a physical manifestation that matches that of their mortal form, although without the weaknesses or age or injury.
All souls that enter the Underworld are given the choice of remaining in the Underworld, passing into Reverie, or travelling on to the plane of their Patron Deity by using one of the planar gates established for just this purpose.
If the Soul leaves the Underworld, whether to travel to another deific plane or to return to the mortal realm of Aerde a fragment of their soul remains bound in the Underworld and takes the form of a Petitioner.
The worshippers of Naeron, or any who have rendered great service to the Death Dragon may be offered a place among the Dracon Ulstansi, this choice is usually only given to those of a martial leaning or who have died bravely in battle.
The History of Naeron by Zsertesen the Seer
After the remaking of the world by the Immortal and the death of so much that was Naeron felt new life spread across the world and formed a gateway between Aerde and the Underworld, gathering the life energy of the creatures that struggled and died across the face of Aerde. As the gate opened an air of death and decay spilled forth from the underworld into the land around it, decaying and altering it, making it into swampland, and changing the nearby forests inhabitants, scaly creatures which slowly slithered towards the swamp, the forebears of the Lizardfolk and other reptilian races.
Naeron watched the unfolding of time on Aerde with interest, during this time he was approached by Murryghn who sought Knowledge, in return for learning the secrets of granting druidic spells Naeron taught Murryghn the secrets of the Undead. All the while Naeron kept amassing the life forces and souls that flowed into the Underworld, sifting their knowledge and keeping certain key powers, keeping the greatest of every race, the powerful mages, the scholars and the heroic warriors, hoarding their knowledge and storing the particular energy which the gods used to give them life, but which they no longer needed once dead, gathering it and shaping it into his own race, but he still needed more, he needed the energies caused by the great wars, but the elemental force was starting to take shape, starting to take form and power. After centuries of waiting Naeron gathered his favored spirits condensing their strength, and started reshaping them into new, powerful, forms.
“You shall be my second-born children and from your making shall come my firstborn, you shall be greater than the children of any other god. Within you shall be the reflection of the darkness in each of these other races’ souls. They think they understand power, all of these gods, and indeed each may seem powerful to those they create but they do not comprehend the true nature of time, that just as all begins so all shall end, it is beyond their comprehension. I shall take care of those who know of me, those who construct their homes in the gateway to my domain, they shall be my firstborn and warriors greater than any other, but you, you will be magnificent, unrivalled".
As Naeron refined and directed the life forces he had collected fragments of compassion, honour, learning and wisdom, stripped from the elemental spirits he was moulding streamed forth and passed through the gateway to the underworld in a dark tide of life and death, a mighty scream rose from his swamp creatures, those that were created generations before by the opening of his gateway, the Lizardfolk and Troglodytes, as they were awakened to intelligence and knowledge. In this awakening Naeron created the most numerous and faithful of his children.
After decades Naeron grasped the energy he had collected, now enough to shape as he willed. “This will be enough to create the races that will embody the death of things, from each of the continents I shall take some of the life-force of the very land, taking pure elemental energy and combining it with the life force I have gathered, and... it is done, my creations are born. They shall be the greatest of my works and also the most dangerous for the hunger that is within them shall endlessly drive them beyond my commands” At this he gave off a roar as he unleashed his creations, a Black, a Blue, a Green, a Red, and a White dragon, the mothers of their race, already carrying new life within them, each heading for one of the other kingdoms to begin giving Naeron even more life force to use.
Naeron watched the carnage that his dragons brought to the mortal world, destroying small hamlets and tearing apart the landscape, each settling in their preferred areas and multiplying, and on occasion breeding with other races, using their knowledge to shapeshift and seduce the lesser being, creating interesting hybrids. As these hybrids grew some were drawn back to the swamps of their master, joining with their inferior Lizardfolk cousins and gradually over time becoming the leading race, creating a tyrannical and brutal culture. “Finally it all comes together, I shall feed my hunger for knowledge and in time I will have dominion over all, as was promised.”
Naeron watched all of the gods with interest but no worry, his creations had begun to wreak destruction on a truly epic scale, the oldest among them are now Great Wyrms, who now visited terror to the other races and concentrated the thoughts of the mighty, his half dragon followers were starting to dilute their bloodline, making Sorcerers exceptionally common within his city of Lizardfolk who were still developing their political structure, which contained a very strong arena system, both diplomatic and violent, if the populace voted against a champion he also died beside the vanquished.
Naeron observed as the other races begin culling his children, and the arrival of Trandim’s children to combat his. “How dare they do such a thing to mine own creations. They shall pay in blood tenfold of mine spilled!”. At this he began weaving the power of the negative plane with of the spirits of his slain children, returning them to a semblance of life and sending them forth onto the face of Aerde to obliterate those with power, as the dragons were his army, the dracoliches are his generals.
Naeron met with Parushan and considered his request for aid in the awakening of a new power of destruction, the Tarrasque, but declined personal involvement as he foresaw the likely result of any cooperation between the gods involved. Instead he drew his own blood with the blade of Parushan and infused its power into some of his dracoliches, directing them to lend their power to Parushan in his stead. The drops of blood that fell to the ground created many aberrations such as the Wyverns, Chimera, Nagas and Manticores, and also the creatures known as Kobolds.
Watching the destruction of the March of Evil Naeron decided that his dragons and the Tarrasque had caused enough chaos and that with the other gods distracted he could return to his plans. Naeron took the form of a black half dragon and began to influence the Lizardfolk and half dragons of his swamp, training and teaching them and shaping their society into one loyal only to him. As he began his task he kept the pit fights going, keeping the strongest of his people alive, making his race progressively stronger, and leaving the most viscous and strongest as his champions, never even knowing their true master was amongst them. The March of Evil spread across the face of Aerde in a dark tide and washed up against the borders of Naeron’s city but his children turned back the enemy and waited out the conflict, growing in strength and numbers. “Now is not the time for my children to march, husband your strength and build your powers for our day will come.” During this time Naeron created 10 Avatars to walk the face of Aerde and oversee the progress of his children and also to teach to the most powerful of his children new skills and magics, creating the first of the Serpent Warriors, with power over life and death. To these Avatars he gave then command of his armies and sent them forth to conquer the swamplands and bring all under his rule.
As the March of Evil ended and the Overgod banished the deities from the face of Aerde Naeron saw that the children of Trandim had indeed grown powerful and would always be a serious threat to the second-born of his children. “As my last act of personal intervention in the world I shall create weapons of destruction against the dragons, as I cannot however alter the balance I will have to create weapons that could be used against my own as well, but I shall hide all of the created weapons, for my avatars and chosen are the only beings strong enough to wield them and they shall retrieve them when the time is right.” Naeron decided that further meddling in the mortal realm would gain him very little and after granting powers and artifacts to the most favoured of his children he returned to the Underworld and, as agreed with the Immortal and the other deities, established the portals to the other realms to be used by the faithful who wished to travel to the planes of their patron deities. His Avatars dispersed across the face of Aerde and start to work in secret to further Naeron’s plans.
Then Beher seized control of almost a quarter of the Underworld and sealed it off from Naeron, enraged Naeron attacked the wall with his servants but was unable to destroy it, instead it became stronger. Naeron realised that Beher’s action was made possible by Naeron’s use of the powers of Destruction and that further use only strengthened the wall that separated the two parts of the Underworld. “I see now my folly Beher, in using your tools to further my ends I left a path that you could use to draw power within the Underworld, that is a mistake that shall not be repeated. I now sever my use of the powers of destruction and slaughter and all the power that I have so gained I shall meld with your wall to form a barrier that will prevent you from ever passing from Dominion into the Underworld. Thus shall I seal you off from further influencing my realm, know that you have earned my enmity Beher and it shall last until the end of time.” And as he spoke Naeron brought forth his appetite for destruction and formed a barrier around Dominion, placing it apart from the Underworld, though still surrounded by it, and he commanded his servants to be ever watchful and to guard against any of the children of Beher who would try to enter the Underworld from Dominion. And from that day the souls of the Children of Beher were ever offered the choice of journeying to Beher’s realm or passing into Reverie, no matter how strong their faith. And thus by the exercise of the choice of mortals was the strength of Beher lessened by a small degree. For the soul of Domina Naeron made a paradise in Reverie, a place of breathtaking beauty where the soul of the dead goddess grieves for her husband and daughter and remains to this day.
The Prophecies of Zsertesen the Seer
The day shall come when a mortal hero, with corruption in his heart, will seize the orb and offer it to his true patron, thus denying its power to all others, and shattering the ban that keeps the balance between all things, he and his followers shall call down their god and bring ruin across the face of Aerde, the bastions of light shall suffer in the darkness and the children of the Dominators shall battle for supremacy. And in this time the corrupter shall seize his moment and wielding the power he has tricked others into giving him he shall set the world upon the path to destruction and the ending of all that we know.
Once more shall the deities walk the mortal realm and all life will tremble at their passage. Then shall the Wyrm of the Underworld break the seals of the gateway that separates life and death and lead his children across Aerde, beyond counting they shall be and against their coming the children of the other gods shall be as wheat before the scythe. With his sister he shall bring the last great conflict to Aerde and the lesser gods shall fall before their wrath, ever increasing their power.
At the end brother and sister will face the corrupter, beside them will stand those gods wise enough to put aside their passions, and against them will stand those gods to whom the ages of time have brought no wisdom. Around them the last children will be arrayed, mortal hosts who will decide the fate of the world. And the final battle will be fought on the seared and broken plain among the ruins of the kingdoms of Aerde. The struggle will last an eternity for time will cease at this moment between ages and in the end the followers and allies of the corrupter will be cast down as the gods themselves do battle. Then shall powers heretofore unknown be cast into the cauldron of fate and many deities will be slain and cast down, and the last of the enemy to fall will be the corrupter and with his death the balance will be restored. Then will brother and sister separate life and death once more and the heartbeat of time will beat again and new life will spread across the face of Aerde. The Immortal will be summoned and shall name from among the mortal champions of Aerde those who shall carry the burdens of the fallen, beauty shall return to the land and a new age will be born. This I have seen and so shall it come to pass.
