Acheron's 6th Circle
Area Key
NOTE: All circles include The Lost Caverns
1st Circle: The Gauntlet
2nd Circle: Corridors of the Dead, The Warrens
3rd Circle: Path of Souls, Arcador (the city of vampires)
4th Circle: Dreamland Shrine, Temple of Dragons
5th Circle: City of Angels, The Sprawl, Chasm of Judgment
6th Circle: The Stronghold, River of Souls, Pit of Acheron, Cavern of Souls
7th Circle: Capital City, Path of Fire, Oubliette
8th Circle: Shrine of Fire, City of Demons, Shrine of Chaos, Haunted Mine, Lake of Fire
9th Circle: The Deadly Warrens, The Great Abyss
6th Circle
The Stronghold:
a great citadel where Acheron's army dwells and is trained and conditioned. It includes Acheron's Coliseum.
The River of Souls:
The River of Souls is one of only two subterranean rivers in Acheron. Creeks from the surface feed into this river which at one point becomes so deep and wide it is like a lake, and yet the currents are still strong even then. It is there countless souls are trapped in a purgatory of horror, forever being clawed, bitten, jostled, crowded, and pulled on by other spirits there. The river is inescapable unless one trapped there is released by command of the Morning Star or the reigning Prince of Acheron.
The Pit of Acheron:
The Pit of Acheron is a massive, vertical, funnel shaped cave in Acheron's east-central quarter which accesses the Great Abyss. The mouth of the abyss is 100 miles across and narrows as it plummets through Acheron. Its sheer face of stone has many shelves, some of them large enough to support fortresses; the ruins of one such fortress can be found in the 8th circle of the pit and is the only city-like structure in the pit. It is known as the Ruins of Abbadon.
Also in the eigth circle, on a shelf above the massive ledge supportingg Abbadon's ruins, is the Shrine of Chaos (see 8th circle). Many stone keeps, carved out of the pit's walls and massive boulders, are scattered amidst the shelves, lived in by pit angels, devils, liches and other creatures of darkness powerful enough to endure the close proximity to the abyss and all the 'digested' spirits pouring into it.
The pit's shaft at the base is 25 miles across where its glassy aperture yawns open into the Great Abyss. Its stone throat bypasses the Lake of Fire like a conduit, hardened by sub-zero temperatures into obsidian. Much of the pit is formed of obsidian, agate, and other quartz like minerals and valuable gemstones are often found imbedded in the walls.
Only one area of the pit is mined, The 'Haunted Mine' which is within a natural cavern which leaves the pit walls behind. At length this cavern leads upward from the 8th circle to Acheron's Oubliette in the 7th Circle. The wide mouth of the abyss plunges from the 6th level and bores through the 7th, 8th, and 9th levels to the abyss. The Morning Star's Powers are at their height here, and nothing can harm him when he haunts the pit. It is a lonely and dreadful place to most, but an excellent place to reflect and relax in his eyes. It is here the Formless Ones dwell.
Cavern of Souls:
a vast cavern accessed from a tunnel in Acheron's Pit where wretched souls known as The Condemned, wander in purgatory. Within this cavern is an enormous cave which contains crystals and items that imprison souls.
Lost Caverns of the 6th Circle:
Vast caverns where only monsters, spirits, and solitaries dwell.
