Information
By talking with the wizards, the characters learn the following information about the Avernus, the first layer of the Nine Hells:
Blood War. Avernus is a major battlefield for the Blood War, the raging conflict between demons and devils. It would be fruitless to fight every Fiend the characters come across in Avernus, since conflicts invariably escalate as infernal combatants join in against interlopers in the Nine Hells.
Environment. Avernus is a hellscape in the most literal sense: a ravaged battlefield littered with decaying carcasses and wrecked war machines. A foul haze perpetually shrouds the skies. Ambient light swells above the horizon in a grim mockery of a sunset, but the sky is bereft of celestial bodies. Searing gusts of wind blast across the landscape, reeking of ash and brimstone. Due to this perpetual smoky twilight, there are no real days or nights in Avernus. Time passes as usual, though, and can be tracked in hour increments.
History. Long ago, Avernus was a tantalizing paradise created by the archdevil Asmodeus to tempt mortals. However, the incursion of the River Styx and hordes of demons ruined that paradise, leaving behind gore and destruction.
Queen of Dragons. Tiamat is the five-headed progenitor of the chromatic dragons in some realms and embodies the vices of evil dragon-kind. Her lair is located in Avernus, connected to numerous monuments and temples scattered across the hellscape.