The Seventh abyss and the Underworld

[Zia-]

Page 1
A general outlook for the Underworld
No matter how long one lives, there is always a time when they perish and die, but most wonder where they go when they do? is there another life after death? Those are questions some believe never will have answers, but they do have answers. When one dies, their soul is taken into the Underworld, a land set in another dimension parallel to the dimension of the living. The soul must traverse through difficult tasks in order to reach their final destination where they may live eternally in either Etheria, or in Hathral, known to most mortals as Heaven and Hell. There are also several castles standing beyond the doors to Etheria and Hathral. These castles hold the noble families of the underworld, as well as the king.

The Underworld is where every single mortal dreads or wishes to end up at, but which they cannot prevent. All will eventually end up there, with no way out, other to give up their own afterlife in service of a noble family, Only then may one be able to leave the Underworld, although due to their servant status, they may not do as they wish in the world of the living, infact, they are unseeable by the living unless their master bridges the gap between the living and the deceased with a special ring. Many servants to the nobles have ended up losing their minds due to not possessing a ring, choosing to end their suffering by exiling themselves to Hathral, where they regretfully suffer until the very end of time itself with the loss of being unable to commune with loved ones.

The Underworld isnt only where souls go to live after death, it is also where the undead and dark creatures are born and created, ready to serve their masters and go forth into the world of the living, causing havoc and despair among all life. A myriad of dark creatures and undead beings have travelled from the Underworld into the world of the living. The nobles would often release these malevolent things to kidnap people when deaths were not a regular occurrence, in order to draw more souls into their domain. Many of these beasts torture and torment the souls trapped in Hathral, but prefer to do such things to the living, they get more more satisfaction out of the living being corrupted with their evil, since they feed off the humility and fear they place upon their victims.

While predominantly for the dead, it is possible for the living to make their way into the Underworld, if they give up their previous life and never leave. It is a rather hefty price to pay, considering that they are not guaranteed to enter Etheria or Hathral. they could possibly end up forever bound to the Seventh abyss, ensnared by one of the deadly sins and unable to ever leave as it controls their life until death. Their soul will also unfortunately be trapped there, never able to move on as it continues to commit to the same punishment that its former life did. However there has been one case where a mortal life has managed to infiltrate the Underworld and return to the realm of the living without succumbing to the horrors of the Underworld. It is thanks to him that we have a description of what it is like inside this vastly different realm to our own.

The Underworld is a rather peculiar place ontop of being parallel to the realm of the living, Magic is restricted and drained from all beings while travelling the parallel world, meaning it is hard for certain mortals to wander without physical means. The ability to fly is also a feat unattainable by most, only being possible for ones born within the chaos and darkness of the Underworld. No mortal by any means can fly in this realm, and would soon find out the consequence for trying, as the land beneath their feet disappears and they plummet into the abyss, never to be seen again.


The Seventh abyss
The Seventh abyss also known as Temptations road, is the long and harsh trek one must go through before they allowed to enter the door to the afterlife. The path is divided into seven sects, each one based off a deadly sin. From the outside it doesnt appear to be much, simply seven large circular domes which appear to be floating apon a vast amass of land. Beneath the domes seems to be an endless stretch of blackness known as the abyss, which devours all souls unfortunate to fall off the path. Each dome present is a couple of hundred meters high, and roughly a kilometre wide. Each Dome possesses a door far larger than any other door in existence, often leading most souls to believe some large beast dwells within and in order to pass they must defeat it, this however is not the case. Between each dome, there is a winding narrow path which one must cross in order to get to the net dome.

There is no other path to the end of the Underworld for most other than to travel through and hope that they do not succumb to the abyss's treacherous ways. The only ones who can pass the Seventh abyss are the noble families, as they themselves created the land and can pass freely through it without suffering any ill effects.

The first Sect:Envy
The first dome of the abyss contains the domain of enviousness and jealousy. any travelling mortal or soul must endure the torture this room places upon them. Heimrick, the only mortal to have ever made it back safely out of the Underworld describes this room as a dark shadowy place where tricks are played upon you. He said that the room would taunt you with the success and power of others, while comparing you to dirt. Heimrick himself found the room would pit him mentally against the thing he dreaded most, the woman he loved but had not yet proposed to, being married to his competitor, who was far wealthier and more handsome than he. Heimrick realised that it was simply an illusion meant to corrupt him like he assumed many had been before him. Ignoring the rooms taunts he trudged on, noting people around him eternally suffering as they attempted to claim their own life, but to no avail. The room effectively made its victims immortal, unable to move on or escape and instead try to commit suicide which was impossible.


The second Sect:Sloth
The secondary dome is home to the sin of Sloth. What appears to be a never ending building of a temple sits in the middle of this room, with thousands of people trapped building it, but whenever the temple nears completion a strange occurrence happens in which the temple would collapse, leaving the people to slowly and immediately rebuild it again with no time to rest. But just what led these people to suffer as they built and rebuilt the temple forever? If one was to take the time and look around, they would note that there were thousands if not millions of chairs, some with mortals and souls sitting on them, trying their hardest to get off but to no avail. If one decided to take a seat and watch on as others built, they would either be condemned to sit in that seat forever as if they were glued to the upholstery, otherwise they will be eternally driven to build the temple with no rest, they may tire but ceaselessly work until their very body rots away and turns into dust, to be swept away by the wind when the temple collapses.


The third Sect:Pride
When one enters this Sect, they find themselves upon the slope of a large hill, with millions of mirrors scattered everywhere along the path through this domain. This Dome was designed with Pride as the sin. As only the most egotistical and narcissistic would dare give into the temptation to stare endlessly at themselves in the mirror, glancing at their own thought of perfection. But this is where the room is cunning as it lures in the unaware. For if one glances into a mirror, they will find themselves transfixed with awe as their mirror image is reflected back at them, however these mirrors are specially enchanted to enhance the physic of the beholder, drawing them in to believe they are much more attractive than they appear. It is only the curious who realise how much of a mistake they have made as they try to turn away, only to find they are forced to eternally stare at their reflection, watching as their beauty is slowly over time turned into the gruesome malnourished physic of a dying person, only when their heart finally stops are they free of this curse, however their body will remain, slowly rotting away until nothing is left, not even bone.


The fourth Sect:Gluttony
Enter the domain where the food will be your final supper. The Sect of Gluttony appeals to many, as rolling hills hold vast amounts of tables, stacked with bounties of foods, of which one could find every meal conceivable. Vast lakes surround the hills, sparkling of red or white wines, a single sip enough to drive anyone to drink from the never declining lakes with an unquenchable thirst. The victims eventually succumb to drowning as they wade in deeper until they are unable to swim back out. For those unlucky enough to be tempted by the sights and smells of delicious food, they find their hunger ever longing to be filled, as they begin to feast upon the many foods laying before them. But as soon as ones tongue has been touched by a morsel, they find themselves unable to stop stuffing their faces with food, while the gritty taste of sand courses their tongue until it is the only thing they can taste. Many switch foods to try and rid the disgusting taste but find that every new meal only courses the taste to strengthen.


The fifth Sect:Greed
If one manages to pass up the offer of food fit for ten thousand lifetimes, they may find the next task to be a struggle. As the enter the fifth dome to find a golden road winding and weaving through mountains of gold, money and jewels stacked as high as the eye can see. Some find themselves awestruck as the vast amount of riches laid out before them shining iridescent and illustriously, just begging to be scooped up and claimed. Any traveller who gives into the sin and begin to try to collect will find their world crashing down as their perception of the wealth is changed, money will grow rustic or crumpled, gold with become grimy and dirty, the shining beauty no longer visible, and gems will lose their appeal, as if they were turned to cloudy glass. The unfortunate victim is then tasked with buffering the riches, in an attempt to make it shine again, of which it never does, but they are unable to stop cleansing and are cursed to do so forever.


The sixth Sect:Lust
The second to last sin one must not fall corrupted to is Lust. When one enters the domain of sexual desires, one must be mentally strong to not lose themselves as the enter a sensual palace like garden, with pools and shrines heavily decorated with roses. The most wondrous music is played from enchanted harps, the melody strong as if angels themselves were singing. Golden statues of nude models riddle the place, adding extra visual pressure to any yet to be victims. But perhaps the most enticing product of the Sect of Lust is the inhabitants, thousands of naked people roam the vast paradise like garden. enticing souls with their attractiveness and beauty. Those who give in to their desires for lust soon find themselves outplayed by the room, as any people they touch in the hopes of talking to reveal their true form, horrendous wrinkled demons with hefty sagging bodies. These demons make short work of the victims they trick with their false sexual imagery, as they quickly grab and devour their victims, the final resting place, in stomach acid.


The seventh and final Sect:Wrath
The last Sect is the home of a notoriously infamous little demon known as the Trigger. This little demon sits upon a structure standing between two doors, now one might think there is a riddle involved and they must figure out what door to enter, well close enough. The Trigger knows exactly what door is the right one, and which is the wrong one, the Trigger always points and tells any traveller to go into the left door, to which they then must decide if the demon is lying to them or telling the truth, if the demon is believed to be lying, then one takes the right door and finds themselves in a predicament, two more doors, and another Trigger. The Trigger will then again point to the left door and tell the traveller to go through that door. The traveller would typically expect the little demon to be now telling the truth, as it seems they did not actually pass through the door, they will then likely believe the demon and go through the door it points at. The will then find that after going through the door the demon told them to, they seem to have gone backwards again as their are two more doors and another demon. The final Sect is known to infuriate many who manage to reach its domain, where they endlessly trudge through doors trying to get through to no avail. The demon simply enables any fool to become enraged and unable to think clearly about the puzzle. The trick to passing the domain of Wrath is to remain calm and be observant, while the demon points to the left door always, his tail points to the right door, which is the correct door to go through, one must pass through the right door 5 times in a row, otherwise become lost in the Sect as anger eventually takes over, driving them to endlessly fail at solving the puzzle.


If one manages to pass through the Seventh abyss, they are the lucky ones, for they have not been corrupted by the sins the Underworlders placed before them, but that does not mean all is merry, for their fate is tied to whatever lies behind the door at the end of their path, whether it be Etheria or Hathral.

to be continued with page 2.

[Zia-]

The door to the afterlife
Behind the final door lies the afterlife, however it may not lead to the place that a souls is expecting.


Etheria
Etheria is the place where souls may live in peace and prosperity, known as Heaven in most mortal places, this paradise is where all should strive to end up in the afterlife. If one manages to make their way through the torturous Seventh abyss, and prove to be worthy, they will find Etheria behind the final door on their trek. While no mortal knows what it truly appears to be like, many imagine that it is a city upon the clouds, where angels hark and flock, their melodious voices filling the place with peace and serenity. Art is usually depicted of this place with white gleaming columns, ivy vines dropping from the top, pools where most would gather to relax and commingle and white tiled floors held elegant golden tables, each holding a variety of delights to fulfil ones hunger or thirst, rainbows strewn across the land, with pots of gold and riches at the end of each of them. Faeries and pixies are often seen serving souls, following behind with their fluttering frail looking wings. The one currently ranked Seraph, Lydia herself often spends time in Etheria, meeting with the souls who have been deemed worthy enough to live on in paradise, she often appears to them as an ethereal beauty with golden wings, each wing glimmering with shiny sparkles, as she tells them stories of the angels of old and all the souls who rose up to become them. Another one to often appear within Etheria is the Zhu, Ling. Known as prince of fulfilment and peace he often comes to help souls adjust better, often appearing as a half man half cat. Etheria is also home to creatures of the light such as pegasuses and unicorns, though many different creatures live here in total peace with the souls.


Hathral
I a soul manages to make it through the seventh abyss but has been glanced upon by the Lucifer, they will most likely find themselves walking through a door into a world of living horror, as rocky terrain covers the land, with oceans of bubbling lava, filled with screaming souls trying to escape as demons and devils torment them with false hope, prodding them with pitchforks. The Lucifer is lord of this domain, and is in charge of condemning the souls trapped here forever, whether it be physical or mental abuse through the use of the many dark creatures and demons that live here. Souls that find themselves trapped in Hathral can look forwards to having their eternal life there an absolute misery, as they are burned from contact with the molten rock or find their lungs full of deadly gasses that causes agonising pain but cannot kill them. Shades make a living here, as they dispell any hope of escape by capturing those trying to revolt and sucking the emotions out of them, leaving only despair until it is the only thing their victims can feel before being tossed into a cage to be confined until they learn their place. The Azazel also often comes to Hathral, where he tries to bring souls to total corruption, turning them into half fallen angels, where he then allows them to come serve him in his household.


However if one decides that they do not want to risk finding out what lies behind the final door, they may choose to instead serve one of the noble families for eternity, however it should be noted that this choice in itself is risky, as it proves to drive many but the loyalist servants mad, where they are casked off to Hathral to serve the rest of eternity insane.


Creatures and Undead of the Underworld
Many dark creatures and demons dwell from the Underworld, where they are born from malevolence and hatred, while few others are born from kinship and love, all light creatures dwell in Etheria, while those of the dark dwell both in Hathral and in the noble houses, where their serve their masters as tools and weapons. The undead are created by the King, where they often serve as guards to certain points of the Underworld, though few may also reside in Hathral from time to time. Many creatures however have leaked through the dimension into the realm of the living, where they populate whatever planets they can, causing strife and destruction as they slowly bring more and more souls back to the Underworld. It was often to the enjoyment of the nobles that this would happen, several races of creatures or undead would be sent into the realm of the living to bring back souls whenever natural deaths were a rare occurrence due to abnormal shifts in the universe. Just some of the creatures and undead that exist here are:

Demons
Demons come in a variety of shapes and sizes in the Underworld, where they antagonise and torment souls trapped in Hathral, while appearing different to Devils, they are actually related in some form, devils are a type of demon and serve under the house of Lucifer, where they take an appearance after their lord. Demons are well known in the world of the living, there they fulfill a multitude of jobs, such as stealing livestock to possessing mortals, they are told of in many myths and legends, which all happen to be true. Most Demons are nothing more than prankster monsters, tricking mortals with their jokes and pranks, however some more malicious demons are known to possess people, driving them to do the demons bidding while in a trance like state.


Devils
Devils are a common sight in Hathral, little red men possessing horns and a long whip like tail ending in a sharp point, some higher class devils also have wings sprouting from their shoulders. They are known for tormenting souls, providing much of the punishment dished out to souls who find themselves trapped in Hathral. Devils themselves are not malevolent, simply doing the bidding of their prince, Lucifer. Some devils live in the realm of the living, where they sell off captured mortals as slaves to other races, they also sometimes deal with unique artefacts that have semblance to the Underworld. Devils arent renounced for intelligence, most seem to be rather dumb at best, as they can be easily outsmarted to revealing information regarding their home in the realm of the dead, which often costs the their lives to their lord.


Succubus
Succubi are most well known as the demonic race who live only to seduce and corrupt men until they lose the will to live on, often pledging their life to the demons who exploit their lustful urges by sapping the very life from them until they die. All succubi are daughters of Lilith, the original demon who fell from earth and became wife of the first Lucifer. These cunning demons appear as the most beautiful of women, only revealing their demonic presence when necessary. They differ from their cousin race, Vampires, in that they evolved from Liliths first daughter, while Vampires took after her second. Not many of this race remain in the Underworld, most of them left for the realm of the living, where they feed on the sexual desires of weak and willing men. When it comes to combat, succubi often rely on a magical approach, fending off and dishing attacks before swooping in on bat like wings before slicing down their foes with their razor like claws.

Vampires
Vampires over the course of generations evolved from demons into blood sucking undead. True vampires possess powers and abilities that greatly divide them from more "traditional" vampires, which came to be from stealing the blood of a pure vampire, where injected, the blood acted as a virus, causing vampirism to be passed on through bites, however pure vampires can only be born from vampire lineage, however due to the dwindling numbers in pure vampires, they have had to resort to mating with mortals, producing half bloods who make up more of the gene pool of the vampire race. Only vampires of the Blackthorn name live in the Underworld, and only those who have reached immortality are permitted to do so. It is not uncommon for vampires to buy off mortals, having them serve as living meals until the vampire has gained enough life to become immortal forever. One major difference to be noted between pure vampires and the more commonly known traditional vampires is that pure vampires are not affected by garlic nor the sun while their counterparts are, however a silver bullet or sword will still do plenty of harm to both kinds.


Ghosts, Skeletons and Zombies
these undead make up approximately seventy percent of all undead in the Underworld, most of them serve in the undead army, used by the king when at war with the realm of the living, he would send forth his troops along with the other undead races to fight with the mortals, these basic troops would often perish in the wars, however they did serve their purposes. Ghosts would infiltrate enemy lines, sabotaging enemy personal and machines as well as disturb enemies slumber, causing restless nights to impede their foes. Zombies would attack and attempt to turn foes through the action of biting them, causing mortals to die from infection and rise up as undead. Skeletons were the soldiers of the army, fighting as ranged and melee units, they were heavily expendable however as they were frail. It was not until later the king of the Underworld would retire his units in a peace treaty with the realm of the living, however the king was unable to withdraw his troops from the realm of the living, leaving millions of troops stuck there, still attacking mortals occasionally.


Shades
One of the most well known undead aside from zombies and walking skeletons, these undead were created by Grius Hellscythe, the current king of the Underworld. The appear as a cloaked figure with the hood drawn, a large red tongue dangling from the blackness of it,, with large greying arms coming out from sleeves in their cloak, nail-less fingers ready to grasp any mortal they can reach. Finally a white and black striped tail finishes the creature off, the base hidden from view within the tattered remains of the bottom of their cloak. Shades are widely known for their ability to turn all the pleasantness in the air into despair, as they stalk their victims and turn their very emotions into negatives, as humility and fear take over, until their victim is paralysed with these feelings. Then the shade with grasp its victim and shove its tongue down its throat, sucking out every ounce of emotion until they are a husk, unable to show anything, and just move like a zombie. Shades are also known to cause their victims to hallucinate with visions of horror if their victim tries to escape or fight back. The only way to ward off a Shade is with the scraping sound of metal against metal, the most commonly used method is jingling keys, the very sound is toxic to their ears, causing them great pain.

Draeva
Draeva are true horrors of the undead world, they are behemoths comprised of several skeletons, each skeleton comprising a body part of these giant undead. Draeva are the guards to the house of Hellscythe, they do not allow just anyone past, only those who prove worthy in a fight may pass these giant skeletal monsters. It is a rare occurrence for Draeva to be sent into the realm of the living, since they are meant to form a garrison for the king, not an attack force, as such they do not fair well outside of the Underworld, where they are easily dispatched by those who know of holy magic or possess silver weaponry. Not much is actually known about this kind of undead, but it is known that they are often quick to attack foes, charging headstrong into battle whether they may be weaker or stronger than their foes, which leaves them open to many counter attacks and defeat.

Liche
Liche are powerful undead skeletons given vast magical prowess due to the magicians robes and staffs they posses. They provide both ranged warfare as well as support to most troops of the undead army, providing magic barriers and seals to protect their undead brethren from harm as well as providing magical damage to their enemies, such as magical drain and dark magic. Liche are widely known for their immunity to holy magic and artefacts, as they are able to negate the effects with their own magic, however they are remarkably weak when it comes to melee combat, easily taken out with a swing of a silver sword. Ranked liche often possess an upside down cross upon the hood of their robes, indicating that they differ from the heavenly spirits of light.

Selkie
Selkies differ from their undead family in that they appear as cute little white monsters, with large bubble like heads, each one with a wide smile and empty black eyes. Selkies serve only one purpose, to infiltrate enemy lines before exploding in a kamikaze like mission, where upon exploding, their bodies release a copious amount of toxic gas. This gas proves to be a highly efficient way of dispatching armed forces otherwise unreachable by melting their very flesh until they themselves are nothing but walking skeletons, often still adorned with their armour. Selkies also make up much of the Kings servants as jesters where they often explode and fight each other in cute ways, their king and his audience immune to their toxins.

Gnights
Gnights are a different and unique form of undead, they are literal shadows that have been given a roughish humanoid shape, down to the torso where it tapers off to a single point. Gnights vastly differ themselves from other undead by how they fight, possessing the armour of fallen enemies, they become an armoured foe many find to be defensively perfect against melee assault. Gnights armour is enchanted by their shadowy forms and given fortifications to resist most if not all melee weaponry, critical of their position as vanguard, they form walls to protect their supportive undead, liche. however it should be noted that Gnights are incredibly weak against all forms of holy and light magic, as it burns their shadowy figures, ignighting them until there is nothing left to burn. Only a handful of Gnights exist now, residing as statues in the house of Hellscythe where they await orders in suspended animation.

many more creatures and undead exist in the underworld, but sufficient information about them is scarce to non existent.

to be continued with the noble families.

[Zia-]

The noble families
there are several noble families which make up the rulers of the Underworld and their king. Each head of house is in charge of ruling over an aspect of the Underworld, for example, the Lucifer is prince of the devils and ruler of Hathral. It is custom for the Underworlders to refer to each other by last name, when one being is of higher rank within the Underworld, they are referred to with "the" before their name. Eg. A member from the Blackthorn family talking about the devil prince, they would call him the Lucifer.

Ophis pronounced Orphis
Before it came to be known as the Underworld, the realm of the dead was simply a dimension called the Gap, a place of nothingness and destruction occurred that existed before and outside the universe, gigantic supernova storms cluttered the gap spewing lightning strikes everywhere. It was the result of a extraordinary event of two lightning strikes clashing together that gave birth to the very first being of the dimensional gap. This being was known as Ophis, a large winged black serpent god. Ophis ruled over the gap alone for a exasecond or 32 billion years, wandering the great dimension in search of another being, for she felt increasingly lonesome as the years drew on. The lone great serpent felt the effects of the big bang as the universe was created aside her dimension, and with the universes creation God as well, Ophis wouldnt care much about God when she would meet him in the universe many many many years later.

It was only billions of years later when the first Lucifer, Satan along with Azazel, the fallen angel found themselves in the dimension through a rip between the gap and Hathral that Ophis was no longer alone, thinking that it was uninhabited, Lucifer decided that he would be the one to rule over the dimension, to which Ophis had no worries about since if he did anything to anger her she could easily expel his life. Ophis found herself intrigued by the two brothers and did not come into contact with them until much later as they claimed the gap as their own, naming it the Underworld. Ophis instead decided upon other things, focusing on her own exploration and journey.

Ophis found herself travelling into Hathral through the portal once the brothers begun to explore her realm, entering the devil world, before entering the realm of the living through another rip in space that connected briefly when souls would enter. It was there in the realm of the living where mortal humans on earth would worship Ophis in the years after first seeing her, where they called her Ouroboros the eternal serpent, for she told them stories that whenever the serpent god was slain by any means, she would consume her own body before being birthed again in a ball of black energy and consumption. A black hole that would exist, feeding off of the energy around it before spewing forth the snake god again.

Ophis watched as more beings begun to slither into the Underworld, she found it interesting how they would squabble with each other about what would be done within the Underworld, of course they still were ignorant of her existence, and she found it quite entertaining to watch them from the realm of the living due to the power to open portals. It was only when she slipped back into the Underworld, that she found how much it had changed. A large mass of floating land existed there now, marking where the beings had decided to set up their territory. Outraged, Ophis decided to act, using her extensive power of manipulation through the use of small snakes to cause the beings to argue more, bringing more ferocity to each discussion in the hopes that they would tear each other apart, She watched as the beings turned on each other. Few of the beings were slaughtered, their souls trapped forever in limbo as they were unable to pass on inside the Underworld. Ophis decided to make herself known to the beings, appearing before Lucifer, Azazel, Michael and Zhu, the beings who had survived each others brutal attacks and set aside their differences, forming a council. They met the serpent god with much optimism, discussing how the Underworld should be run, Ophis stated that she was fine with another ruling the Underworld, as long as she was informed of any changes, lest she lay waste to them all with chaos. It was then that Ophis used a sealing power to close the two rips in space, instead would appear two opposing doors, one to Hathral, the other to Etheria.

Ophis soon found herself watching over the developing Underworld, as the four deities and their families grew and popularised the dimension. The snake god once more secluded herself from the others, moving back into the realm of the living where she set out to find her worshippers once more and praise them for their loyalty. Through travelling the globe of earth Ophis learnt many mortals now feared her, thinking she was a spawn of evil. Ophis quelled their misconceptions with divine acts, but soon grew tiresome of always performing acts for nothing in return other than prayer and worship, the humans would not give up their riches to her. Ophis decided to give up her godship, relinquishing her omnipotence and immortality, so that when she would die, she would still consume herself, but she would be born as a new vessel, but still of the same mind and entity. It was this doing that caused he to be unable to grant divine miracles for those wanting them from her.

Ophis soon found herself taking a more drastically different and youthful appearance. She would appear before the other families of the Underworld as a young girl with long flowing black hair, a gothic lolita, complete with a black and purple ballroom dress, though she could still be identified as the serpent from her eyes, they were yellow with black slit like pupils. However when she ventured into the realm of the living, she would once more become the winged serpent that she was worshipped as. Ophis felt like the change was necessary, as appearing as a small figure before the others in council would lessen their views on her as a threat. She flitted between Earth and the Underworld to partake in both roles at both realms.

The serpent found that her worshippers begun to diminish, most losing faith in her as a god, since she could no longer provide them with her divine presence, they begun to see her as an omen, and would often try to ward off the serpent with charms and rituals. Ophis was disgraced at the betrayal of the mortals and punished them, from her mouth she spawned black orbs, each one firing down upon the mortals, exploding before creating a vacuum, destroying all that found themselves being sucked in. Fires would burn through the land as mortals tried to flee in the chaos and destruction, some would find themselves under the serpents control, going after their own kind as they slaughtered and maimed as many as they could before they themselves perished. Only when all life had been destroyed by the great serpent, did she head back to the Underworld, but not before destroying the land with a black hole, sucking up all evidence of her and her worshippers.

Ophis found herself amazed by the sight of the Underworld when she returned after erasing her existence from the mortals, a few more large houses were erected upon the landmass, and Ophis found herself meeting more beings, there was now a vampire family within the Underworld now, Lucifer still ruled the Underworld though, along with his wife Lilith, whose offspring brought forth the vampire race and family. Ophis lost trust in the realm of the living and sought to only venture there in order to cause chaos and destruction everywhere. But soon Ophis was betrayed by Lucifer, who was angry with her for attempting to be a beacon for the mortals to worship, she found herself close to death, but before perishing lay three eggs, each egg containing a son who would go forth and exist before she would be reborn again. Each egg was sent into the realm of the living before they hatched, each one plummeting to Earth where they hatched into three dangerous serpents, the Basilisk, Yamata no Orochi, and the Cockatrice. There Ophis's children caused chaos and destruction for their absent mother before she was reborn again.

The current Ophis, Etena was born 1000 years after the previous Ophis perished, an irregularity as most are born a day to week later, however due to this bizarre occurrence it seems that Etena is perhaps the most powerful Ophis, of past present and future as well as taking the custom as appearing as a child, wearing a large black and purple ballroom gown. Ophis also wears a short cape with the Ophis crest. She possesses a vast amount of magical abilities that all Ophis have, but her destructive power is tenfold of what any other has been able to produce. Etena operates as the kings left hand, taking over his work when he is incapable of as well as keeping the other underworlders in line. She has frequent clashes with the Lucifer, who is angered by Ophis being second in charge. She simply dismisses his envy, as she searches for the eternal power of her former self when she was a god.

Her house is full of loyal servents, each unable to betray her or try and do something unfaithful to her as she implants a snake into each servant, allowing her to take over their body for an amount of time, thus enabling her to render them completely under her control. Ophis is able to also divide her body up into several snakes, enabling her to escape situations easier and gather information from various sources simultaneously. The past few Orphis also learnt how to open gaps between dimensions, enabling them to travel in and out of the realm of the living with ease, where they would often go to visit the sons of the original, taking any humans they managed to capture, giving them to her to take to the Underworld, She would then leave her new victims afloat in the alternate dimension, leaving them in the vast space of the Underworld to die with no hope of escape. Ophis was the one who created the abyss in the Underworld, as well as the Sect of Wrath, due to her growing hatred of mortals due to the situation they put her in where she gave up her godship. She created the abyss through collapsing a black hole with a hypernova, the end result forming a bottomless dark hole beneath the seven sects.

Etena struggles with her own sense of being, as aside from the three children she birthed, she as Ophis has known no other family, it was as if she was in a bubble which cut her off from others, she felt like she could have a long lost sister or brother, birthed in herhaps yet another dimension similar to her own. Ophis often wondered these things, if she was to be eternally secluded from everyone else with her eternal existence would she even have a family aside from the ones she birthed. That factor always left her wondering if she did indeed have any relatives. Of course she was technically mother to all serpents, learning how to commune with her type when in the realm of the living where she would use them to gather information on mortals before bringing it back to council in the Underworld.

Etena was surprised when she first met the Necromancer Abel who managed to make his way into the Underworld, she felt that the man was an extraordinarily strong being and felt that the man would do the Underworld some real good. It was thanks to Ophis that The Hellscythe family rose within the ranks to rule over the Underworld, she noted how much more powerful the original Hellscythe was over Satan, and how he ruled over both life and death, able to take a life away and restore another with little effort. Ophis believes that the current Death, Grius can help her achieve her power as a god once more, and thus is using the reaper for her own goals, although she does give him the majority of her respect, the rest going towards all the other noble heads of house, including the current Lucifer.

The crest of Ophis


Hellscythe
The origins of the Hellscythe family is a long one, it begins first with Zachrus, a man angered with the loss of his wife, she had been taken from him by a demon which killed her and then took her soul into hell for her infidelious ways. Zachrus sought to bring her back to him, to torment the gods of death by bringing her back to life. He then spent the next fifty years, reading over grimoires left by a religious cult, reading from one, he learnt that there was a diving power of bringing the dead back to life, called necromancy. Taking the knowledge he learned, he applied it to bring back his dead wife, however when he first lay eyes on her once more, he found that his wife appeared before him as a ghost. He reached out a hand to touch her cheek but found that she was intangible, he couldnt caress his lover, and felt that she was vastly different to the woman he loved.

Zachrus, feeling a failure, went back to reading the grimoire of necromancy, as he loathed his own worthlessness he discovered that he used a method to bring forth the soul as a ghost. If he was going to truly resurrect someone, he needed to delve deeper into the grimoire and go through a difficult and complex ritual. Zachrus acquired the necessary items he needed, except for one, he needed a bone from the deceased. The old man decided that it would be best to test the ritual out before trying to bring his wife back. Zachrus was given the femur of a long dead male, the bone was quite fragile, as if touching it would cause it to break and turn to dust. The man placed the bone in the centre of a pentagram, along with several other items, a flower known as a deathbell, a human heart, a silver bar imbued with dark magic, a dove born from an egg hatched by a snake, and blood drawn from the summoner with a knife used to sever child from mother.

Once the site was set and the ritual undergone, Zachrus summoned forth a being, however unlike his previous attempt, this ritual brought a deceased truly back to life, more advanced and complex than bringing someone back as a ghost or undead. The man that stood before Zachrus was truly brought back to life, unbeknownst to him at the time, was actually the first human of earth to die, Abel. Also unknown to Zachrus, was that in bringing the first person to die back to life, he inadvertently created the personification of death within Abel, Who with his new power over death slay the necromancer with the knife before taking the grimoires and fleeing off into seclusion.

The newly resurrected Abel sought to read through the books, taking in the vast amount of knowledge and power each contained, from within them he learnt many a things, giving him an immense craving to use his magical powers, he traversed the globe, finding the remains of his wives and children and bringing them back as powerful undead. He soon discovered that due to his own resurrection he became the personification of death, learning of his destiny he decided to call himself the Reaper, his right arm becoming skeletal and given the power to kill life with but a touch. Donning a black cloak and hood made from the shadows of the night itself, Abel would travel around earth, claiming souls before sending them off to what he believed the afterlife, but really was the Underworld, where at the time both Lucifer and Seraph resided, judging souls before sending them to either Etheria or Hathral.

Over many years Abel would claim those on the brink of death and guide their souls to the Underworld, before the curiosity finally got to him, he wondered just where the afterlife was, and after many sleepless nights finally found the answer. After his first son gave him a farmer scythe in order to appear more imposing, as if he were to reap peoples souls as one would do to crops, cutting the soul out of their body before sending it on. It was then through accident that Abel slashed his scythe through the air, the blade seemingly ripping through space itself to create an opening, a portal to another dimension. Abel decided to delve into the portal, where he found himself in an alternate dimension, of which a single span of land existed, floating as if held up by millions of birds fluttering their wings. Abel floated across the dimensional gap and landed upon the land, where he noted there were two doors before a path towards the larger part of the land, several houses were erected upon this land, He entered the largest house to find what appeared to be some kind of devil sitting upon a golden throne. Abel discovered that this was the fallen deity Satan Lucifer. After discussing with the great demon king, Abel learnt that he was in a placed called the Underworld, where all the souls that he claimed went, where they were judged before being sent into heaven or hell.

Abel found it all surprising, and insisted that he allow his family to live within the sanctum of the Underworld, the king accepted and allowed Abel to bring forth his family into the realm of the dead. Abel then took on the surname of Hellscythe, as his position as grim reaper stood. Abel would travel between the two realms, escorting the dead or dying to the Underworld to lead them onto their afterlife. When times of death were less or if he had time to spare, Abel would spend time researching about creating his own undead for his own personal reasons. Abel discovered that it would be easier than he thought, as he had already learnt much of the dark magical arts as well as passing those teachings on to his children through the grimoires. He kept the books and would often reread them to make sure he never forgot anything or left it out.

Abel kept to himself most of the time when it came to interacting with the other entities that existed within the Underworld with him. He learnt that he was the last of them to stumble upon the realm, and when the time came for him to meet with the others to discuss, he felt rather underwhelmed, for he assumed all of the other beings would be like Satan. He was right when he sat down at the large table within the kings home, sitting to his immediate left was a tall man with dark hair and clothing, two large black bird like wings spread from his shoulders. Abel soon learned that this man was Azazel. To his right was quite the opposite, a lovely looking pale woman with halo and large white wings sat Seraph. The rest of the beings were Ophis, Zhu and Carnelia Blackthorn. Each member discussed to Abel how things worked within the Underworld and they learnt from him what he was and that he guided the souls to the Underworld. during the discussion Ophis made the point that since Abel was ruler of life and death in that he could take a life as well as restore it, it would be more appropriate for him to be king. The others discussed this and the majority voted that leadership should be changed to accommodate this, that the king of the Underworld should be given to the one with power over life and death.

So thus started Abels rule as king, much to Satans dissmay, he felt like he had been cheated out of his rule, since he was the one who bridged the link between Hathral and the Underworld. But nothing he could say would change the matter. That was why years later Abel was murdered by Satan, since Abel unlike the rest of his family, was not undead and could easily be killed by the greater being. The leaders of each family gathered to discuss what would happen, when they learnt that Abels first heir was taught everything the reaper knew, thus the young Addicus was made king. He took over his fathers work and was bestowed upon the touch of death.

Addicus now ruler, found that even though he was undead, he was unaffected by most holy magic and immortal in some aspects, through his research he found that he, along with all of the Underworlders for that matter, would be rendered incredibly sick from the rind of oranges. While not able to directly kill them, it would make them weak and vulnerable enough to be killed from another Underworlder, thus he made it rule that any assassination attempts by any families would mean they become eternally imprisoned within the realm of the living. He did discover that those of the Hellscythe name, could die from advanced magical phenomena, such as molecular manipulation or other ultimately high tiered powers, as well as silver enchanted with holy water.

Addicus was also rather cautious of Lucifer, feeling that he may try to slither back atop his previous seat as king, The king decided that action needed to be taken, and not just against Lucifer, he felt that if any of the other nobles lived too long they would possibly bring threat to all they had brought together. Thus he searched the grimoires for an answer, and found it in a peculiar little curse that he could place upon the other families of the Underworld. Knowing that the other families may feel wary of the curse once put into place he sought council with them, where he explained his feelings in that the mortals may resent them as near immortal beings and thus felt like if they were given a set lifespan, mortals might feel more at ease. Addicus was smart however, he knew he could decieve the other nobles, but he knew that it would be unwise to put it into effect on Ophis as well as the Blackthorns, they both had their reasons for being immortal and so decided to leave them with their own free will of life.

The king was faced with another problem, he himself had no wives or children, thus meaning he had no heir to take up the mantle of grim reaper if he should so perish. Through discussion with the three sisters he had, an agreement came to be, since all were undead, genetics would no longer take effect within their family and thus saw to it that any heir to the throne, would court and marry his sisters in order to produce their own possible heirs in return, and as such became a custom within the family. He sired several children with his now wives, his chosen heir named Grius. He made sure that Grius would do him proud, teaching him a great many things about being part of their family as well as skills and spells that would prove to be beneficial in thefuture.

Addicus went on to further study from the grimoires and happened to stumble upon a power of which his slain father did not possess. Thinking it strange, Addicus studied the power from within the grimoire, learning that it worked similarly to his touch of death. While touch of death could kill any living thing it touched, it needed direct contact with skin to work. Wail of the banshee allowed Addicus to emit an eerie shriek which would be powerful enough to kill any who listened upon it. Addicus expanded upon what the grimoire stated and expanded the power to include talking, to which he made the word "die" if spoken by a Hellscythe who knew the power, would instantly kill any who listened. Addicus went on to teach this power to Grius, in the hopes that his heir would pass down this skill to future generations.

When finally Addicus's life ended, Grius became the new grim reaper, quickly mastering all the powers that he had been taught and more from the grimoires his father and grandfather before him neglected to study. It was because of this that Grius was able to create several undead monsters, more grand and powerful than any his predecessors did. Grius created several undead races, naming them Shades, Liches, Draeva, Selkies and Gnights. It was known that Grius created others, but they havent been identified as of yet. The king is also looking into bringing the two slain deities that died before he entered the Underworld, but as of yet he has not located their bodies as they float in the large space of the dimension.

Grius proposed before the other noble families that they should place a final trial for a soul to go through before they be allowed access to the afterlife, he pushed forth his idea of making a soul traverse several areas, each one themed on a deadly sin, in the hopes of weeding out the weak willed so as to not allow them in Etheria if they passed. Naming it the Seventh abyss, the noble families each made a sect of the trial, each family picking one sin to base their sect off of. Grius decided to pick greed and thus made an area full of riches that were enchanted to ensnare those who only wanted wealth, for he felt that greed would be something to be shunned upon and would not permit it within his own family.

Grius rules the Underworld with his wife Helsa, his daughter Eucliwood and son Adrius. His two other daughters Sasha and Newt live within the realm of the living, Newt currently studying upon several different magical branches, increasing her knowledge of the arcane arts, while Sasha was banished from the Underworld and Hellscythe family for trying to usurp her father and kill her brother. Each Hellscythe is tasked with designing and forging their own scythe, for each member of the family now wields the title of Necroreaper. While only Grius possesses the touch of death, his wife and children are also capable of guiding the deceased to the Underworld.

As head of the Hellscythe family, Grius dons the cloak of the original reaper,which allows him to become invisible as well as intangible. On the back of the cloak sits the family crest, which his father before him created before passing. The rest of the family simply wears a cape with the same crest upon it. The house of Hellscythe also shows off the crest, where it is shown on every banner hanging from the decadent ceiling.

Hellscythe crest

[Excalibur]

Can there be a royal family that is my lineage?? Like make it cool.