The Labyrinth is a sprawling, constantly-shifting maze of tunnels and chambers below the Underworld, terminating in Oblivion.
Overview[]
The Labyrinth is at least as large as the rest of the Underworld, possibly larger; after all, it came into being to house the totality of slain Primordials. Its geography constantly shifts in accordance with the dreams of the Neverborn and the fears of those inside it. Near the surface, especially around the Mouth of the Void, the walls generally appear to be made of stone, though Stygian miners sometimes draw gouts of blood or pus with their tools. Further in, the tunnels twist and warp into any imaginable form. Experienced travelers can exploit this mutability to quickly travel from one point in the Labyrinth to another, but even they risk getting lost or having to confront the Labyrinth's inhabitants: spectres, hungry ghosts, hekatonkhires, and a whole zoo of hostile plasmics.
Geography[]
The main access point for the Labyrinth is the Mouth of the Void in Stygia, a vast pit that mirrors the location of Mount Meru in Creation. Two sets of stairs spiral down through ten strata, called bolgias[1]. The upper bolgias are the least mutable parts of the Labyrinth, and servants of the Dual Monarchy mine these for soulfire crystals, soulsteel ores and other valuable materials.
In the middle bolgias, the tunnels branching off the Mouth of the Void lead more directly into the Labyrinth, principally to the larger amphiskopoloi. The lower bolgias lead to some of the grimmest locations in the Abyss, including vast caverns full of hekatonkhires and gigantic plasmics. Even the Abyssal Exalted do not venture this deep lightly.
At the bottom of the Mouth of the Void, the final bolgia contains the tombs of the Neverborn. These are monumental structures, and some spectre cults live near or on top of the tomb of their Neverborn master. Thanks to the fluid geography of the Labyrinth, each tomb overlooks Oblivion, though the Mouth of the Void should be too narrow to accommodate them all. This bolgia is always shrouded in gloom, and no light source or supernaturally enhanced senses can penetrate it. However, a visitor who seeks a particular Neverborn is almost guaranteed to find it — assuming she does not succumb to madness or the pull of Oblivion first.
Other Entrances[]
Many caves in the Underworld connect to the Labyrinth; in fact, almost any cave can do so given enough time and excavation. The Labyrinth also opens into Creation at the Well of Udr, near the Elemental Pole of Wood, and in the Undercity of Thorns. Other access points in significant Shadowlands or the edges of Creation may exist, although many are conditional: a ghost who dies in a certain way may be transported directly to one of the Labryinthine Kingdoms, for instance.
Locations within the Labyrinth[]
The Labyrinth is not merely a maze of tunnels; there are locations with in, islands of semi-stability against the constant flux of the Neverborns' dreams. Most are inhabited by spectres whose shared obsession and delusions stabilize the area against the waves of nightmares that warm the rest of the Labyrinth. None of them are particularly safe for visitors.
Some of these locations are considered "kingdoms," large zones where the warping of the Labyrinth is lessened. Amphiskopoloi, whole cities of spectres, are even more stable. Major locations include:
- The Cavern of the Ending
- Oblivion's Passage, camp of the Hundred Nightmares Army
- The Ocean of Unending Night
- Zhokai, and its capital the Black City
- Cadverous, the lower city of the Varajtul
- The Deaconry of Profanation, temple to fallen Immaculates
- The Infinite Prison, a hekatonkhire in the form of a building
- Orak-Tau, a massive hanging city in the roots of the First Tree
- The House of Succulent Tears
References[]
- ↑ The term "bolgia" is likely taken from Dante's Inferno, in which the eighth circle of Hell, Malebolge, is divided into ditches (bolgia in Italian) full of different categories of sinners.