Death and the path of the Deceased

First of all, a soul not Baptised into Cuthbertism cannot enter Heaven. The best it can hope for is eternity in Purgatory. This includes all non-human races (dwarves, elves, etc, although they would argue the point, and each group has its own belief system.) Animals have no souls, and simply wink out. Those monsters which are not classified as animals are generally considered to have originated from the Infernal regions (to which they return), or if not evil, simply wink out. Evil, intelligent species (goblinoids, mind flayers, troglodytes, minotaurs, etc) go straight to Hell.

The unborn, unbaptised infants and young children go to LIMBO, a dreamlike, drifting place of peace. There they stay until Mary pleads with her son to allow them into Heaven. Cuthbert always agrees.

PURGATORY exists not only for the unbaptised and pagans who have lived a good life, but also for most of the baptized. It is an endless realm much like earth, without aging, disease, death and war, but still a "mortal" existence... rather mundane. They will have a body of flesh, can feel pain, must eat and work, etc. Good and average souls travel here first. Many are destined for Heaven, but must wait their turn, spending this time reflecting upon their lives and counting their sins. This can sometimes take thousands of years. Once Cuthbert is satisfied the soul is truly repentant and worthy, it ascends.

HEAVEN is a place of light, joy, peace and understanding, a true Utopian paradise. When a soul dies (any soul) it travels first to these gates, where St. Peter looks for their name in the Book of Life. A few especially good souls are immediately admitted. Most are sent to Purgatory for an unspecified length of time. Some are turned away and must journey to Hades, and the rest are "Cast Down." These unfortunates are shown that their name does not appear in the book, at which time a powerful angel will appear and take hold of them, taking to the skies with blurring speed and then plummeting rapidly. The Damned will quickly see the surface of Hell rushing towards them, and then the angel will let go. The soul will streak down like a meteor, impacting on the surface of the first layer of Hell with all the pain and destructive force of such a hit, but without the mercy of death. Then their damnation begins.

HADES is reserved for those who have lived an un-Christian life of petty evils and frequent sin. It exists separate from Hell, and is an endless place of jagged shale and soot, mist and wind. Souls consigned to Hades have no physical body, and appear only as shadows, though they can still think and feel... and suffer. These lost souls drift aimlessly for all eternity, unable to communicate with each other, destined to relive every sin which put them here, and they know regret. Frequently they wail in torment.

HELL is for the vile, the brazen and unrepentant sinner, those who harm children, traitors, predators, murderers, suicides, etc. After the impact of being Cast Down, the damned soul rises with an emaciated, naked, hairless, fleshy body. Small, savage demons instantly fall upon the soul, hurting and tormenting it (pain can be felt, and is not only ever-present, but the soul never becomes numb to it... they are also filled with constant despair knowing they will never escape.) The Damned are formed into a seemingly endless line which winds across a vast plain of sharp obsidian and volcanic glass, towards the Gate. Demonic harassment continues for the duration. At the Gate are bigger Demons & Devils, and the massive figure of Cerberus. The Damned have scrolls which list their sins hung around their necks (many have numerous pages) before they pass through the Gate and into eternity.

RESSURECTION & RAISING
Death is not necessarily the end in a world where the deceased can be brought back through the use of divine or arcane magic. A lucky few get a second chance (sometimes many chances.) When a departed soul is to be Raised, the soul not only knows it, but knows who is attempting it. The soul can always refuse, in which case the attempt simply fails.

Those who die and will be "Returned" get the benefit of a 'preview' of what awaits them should they cross over right now, a taste of what is to come. Those who are destined for Purgatory experience a brief, boring time in a mundane world, without much to capture the interest, but are filled with the sorrowful knowledge that Heaven is beyond their grasp. Most choose to return. Some repent and change their lives, hoping for an "upgrade." Many just carry on as they always have, shrugging as if to say, "It's not so bad... at least it isn't Hell."

Those bound for Heaven get a sample of the purifying joy awaiting them in a world of peace and delight. It is all too brief. Few who glimpse Heaven as their destination choose to return. The exceptions are those rare individuals so committed to their work (some clerics and paladins) that they will deny themselves eternal glory for a bit longer until they feel they have accomplished whatever task they have taken on.

Visitors to Hades spend time drifting shapeless and filled with sorrow, and they almost always return (except those tortured souls who are so filled with torment and despair that they cannot differentiate between Hades and their mortal life.) Those who return are badly shaken, and some commit to changing their lives to avoid such a fate. But, people being who they are, many quickly put it out of their minds and carry on as before.

The Hell-bound always return, taking every opportunity to avoid their fate. Their sampling is a dreadful period of pain at the hands of demonic entities, who inflict the most vile and wicked torments upon them. It is a time of horror and fear, and leaves the returning soul emotionally and psychologically scarred. Those who glimpse Hell and return very rarely turn their lives around (they may have committed sins so heinous that redemption is beyond them) and most continue on with the sort of lives which led them to Hell in the first place. These individuals, instead of changing their ways, often become obsessed with unnaturally extending their lives, arranging for a Raise Dead to always be available, etc. They are only putting off the inevitable. Frequently, demonic entities will pay earthly visits to these damned souls, dropping in to remind them that they haven't been forgotten, and filling their minds with previews of what awaits... Some are driven mad by these unholy visitations.

HELL
Geographically, there are 9 layers of Hell, each infinite in size, one atop the other, and each with a vast hole in the center which gives one of the many access points to the next level, either up or down. Beneath all this is the 666 layers of the Abyss, spiraling down into increasingly horrific realms. There is no distinction between Devil & Demon, all are part of Hell, and although there is warfare between the two, no more so than among their own kind.

When Lucifer, most favored among the angels, rose up against Cuthbert and declared war on Heaven, there was a terrible clash of angels. In the end Good triumphed, and it was Michael the Archangel who personally Cast Down his oldest friend and betrayer. Cuthbert had prepared a place for Lucifer and called it Hell.

Satan impacted on the surface of Hell like a meteor, punching a hole through each layer as he passed through, like a bullet through paper, plunging further still, creating the vast impact crater that is the Abyss. To this day, Satan resides at the bottom of the crater, buried in ice and rock and iron up to his chest, unable to escape. There he seethes with hatred and despair. In each hand he holds a writhing figure. In the left is Judas, the disciple who betrayed Cuthbert to the pagans. In the other he holds Pilot, the king of that day, who washed his hands of Cuthbert (although he knew it was wrong) in order to appease the masses and hold onto his power. Satan constantly crushes and rends and tears then apart with his teeth and claws, swallowing them in pieces, only to have them reform in his grip a moment later, doomed to an eternity of this repetitive horror.

Despite the fact that Hell is filled with Barons and Dukes and Princes and Warlords of all varieties, the Church considers that all their power (and even what the Infernal Ones think of as their own ideas and free will) flows from the trapped Lucifer, and so anything they think or do is in fact Satan's work by proxy. The devilish ruling class would hotly dispute this. In their eyes, Lucifer is a washed-up has-been who had a poorly executed plan. They are the real power, and all flows from them. If only it had been they instead of him, the walls of Heaven would still be burning! This arrogance extends from the highest demonic prince down to the lowest imp.

Deeper detail on Hell, its residents and its workings will follow in later works. For now, consider that realm to be of infinite possibilities, ever-changing, ranging from Lawful to totally Chaotic. Mortals can and have adventured and waged war there, and there are numerous points of entry across the entire place... points which work both ways. There is no single ruler (Lucifer is essentially powerless), and the whole realm has been carved up into kingdoms and baronies and empires by the strongest and most devious. Devils and Demons of name abound. In the Abyss, power and position comes with random ferocity and chaotic violence. In the 9 Hells, there is a rigid structure of rank and promotion. Theoretically, even a Lemure could one day become a Prince. Wandering every layer are the damned, and their souls - either in the flesh or as pressed Coins of the Realm - are the primary currency.

Getting in is easy. Getting out is another matter...