Infernum

“From Pride to Envy, every Infernite is a scumbag.” “And what about above Pride?” “Ugh, don’t get me started.”

-Conversation between two banished angels in a Sloth café

Infernum is the outermost inner planet of the Sanctum system, once a place of exile and repentance now having formed its own libertine and anarchistic society. Infernum is stuck in a simmering rivalry with its sister planet but in the end also their ally against outside forces.

Infernum, though remaining an independent polity, is intrinsically connected with Sanctorum as the recipient for all the outcasts and rebels against the Sanctum government, happily integrating and caging the exiles in. Rumour has it that Infernum never left the sphere of influence of the High Choirs of Sanctorum - they simply reached an agreement both sides could be happy with.

Climate

Infernum is, contrary to its name, quite the cold place. The world is located just barely at the outer edge of the Goldilocks Zone and possesses a thin atmosphere making it very cold on the surface. The mountain death zone of the planet comes into effect at a meager two kilometers, making virtually any climbing or even significant altitude changes from terrain require supplementary oxygen.

Mean temperatures of the planetary surface hover around 8° Celsius with moderate and subtropical climates centered around the equator. Due to its highly circular orbit, seasons are much less pronounced, and a lack of natural satellites such as moons leaves the world with no tidal forces influencing its waters. As a result, the equator of Infernum is a fetid mess of swamps, bogs, and mangrove forests which are virtually unsettled.

The vast majority of inhabited climates are generally located in the tundras, taigas, and midland hills of Infernum.

Society and Inhabitants

The people of Infernum is usually referred to as “Infernites” or colloquially “Demons” as many Infernites prefer to express themselves through adopting the visuals and anatomy of depictions of infernal creatures in liturgical, cultural, and pop-cultural sources. Having existed as a society for 200 odd years, much of the Infernum population is actually descendants of the original exiles who have inherited their physiological and genetic modifications from their highly customized ancestries. Prejudices and stereotypes are common among the people on Infernum on what infernal creature they expect, subtly pushing them towards meeting expectations. However, this is not required.

However, there are also Infernites who simply choose to remain human or human-looking, as well as people still adopting Sanctorum looks and genemods. These are usually outward-facing members of their respective circles, interacting with the Elysian Colonies or the Commonwealth.

The society of Infernum is free, libertine and lawless. There is no centralized government and law - anarchy reigns in its completion. However, this does not mean there are no guiding rules or inhibitive forces bearing down on individual Demons. As a means to establish some trust and civilization demons often engage in contracts with one another which are binding upon their honour. Of course, nothing stops them from breaking this contract, but this will always lead to repercussions: An oathbreaker is untrustworthy and will quickly lose assets, allies and cohorts as they fear they will lose the benefits of following a demon.

This makes demons people of their word by necessity - and contracts terribly convoluted and predatory, trying to get away with as much as possible. Mastery of technicality and exact wording of contracts make sure the powerful stay on top and everyone else can feast on their scraps.

Overall, Infernum society is anarcho-capitalist in nature and is “ruled” by different cartels and conglomerates and their subsidiaries, engaging in conflicts that have a stark resemblance to turf wars of gangs - criminality and business are entwined lovers on the planet.

Settlements

The Purgatory Towns

Purgatory Towns are a tongue-in-cheek way to refer to townships, villages, and hamlets that are outside the influence of the wider Infernum society, making up a 30% minority of the population. They live in the habitable taigas and tundras of the planet and subsist on primary resource extraction economies as well as limited agriculture and pisciculture. Most inhabitants are demons who have enough of the largest city of Infernum, but don’t want to leave home or freshly arrived Angels who are horrified to live in the Mohole.

Beyond that, not much is to be said about the Purgatory Towns aside from the fact that most people coming from them are really annoyed when compared to their much more famous neighbors.

The Mohole of Sin

The Mohole of Sin is the primary settlement of Infernum, encompassing the majority 70% in a 50km wide Mohole that nearly reaches the planet’s mantle. Descending downwards into a spiral, seven districts have been carved into the sides of the hole or built into the descent itself. Travel between the layers is easy as long as someone can pay the ferry price - which increases the higher you go and the lower you start.

Sloth

Sloth is the surface of the Mohole and the first meters into the descent, being mostly a transitory place for immigrants and emigrants to enter or leave the Mohole. Besides this, there is nothing truly special about this place. Continuing to suffer from Greed’s smog, people often stay inside and cater to tourists before they delve deeper, leading to a sleepy and cozy atmosphere to blunt the culture shock and soothe terrified newcomers.

Greed

Greed is of a dualistic nature. There are the glittering spires and highrise offices that jut into the sun inside the mohole and there is the smog and the mines of factories and smelteries. Greed is the center of the Mohole’s industry with kilometer long tunnels growing out of its districts like cancerous vein, where debt slaves and raid-slaves are undertaking the grueling task of extracting and refining mineral wealth which often is directly shipped to the factories bellowing smog and pollution uncaringly to the surface. But beyond that there are the law firms, the banks and the glitzy casinos, carefully built away from the misery of the manufacturing boroughs, where tourists and natives alike rub shoulders and gamble all their wealth away to the magnates ruling this world.

Pride

A forbidden district for most, Pride is the pinnacle of the Mohole’s Society - lying in the middle of the hole, its temperature is pleasant and being below Greed makes the air untainted by their pollution… Making this the nicest place to live in. Indeed, those who live in Pride can only sing its praises. From artificial garden domes to exhilarating galas and museums, it is practically a gated community for the rich, the influential, and the very, very lucky. But make no mistake. This is still Infernum. Here competition relies on reputation and everyone is an enemy to be outdone. Character assassinations happen on the daily and those who break the facade of peace are often banished into the lowest level of the Mohole. One can soar high in Pride’s own little hierarchy, just to be outcast by a more ruthless and charismatic opponent.

Gluttony

Where the air grows thick with the atmospheric pressure, where the temperature becomes just on the edge of uncomfortableness is the district of Gluttony. Here most if not all food for the Mohole is grown and raised in factory farms and clone laboratories. Most of the atmosphere is actually unbreathable to sapient beings aside the boroughs zoned for habitation or commercial activities, making a gasmask an almost required accessory for most people visiting, working, and living in this place. Besides that, the restaurant culture in Gluttony is the strongest of all in Infernum - delicacies and curious exotics are served and tried out on the daily, making it a Mecca for foodies and adventurous eaters within the Elysian Colonies - as long as one doesn’t mind not exactly knowing what kind of untested substances or livestock they consume.

Lust

Lust is, in one word, hot. Here the temperatures reach the subtropical level, deep within the earth of Infernum. This district (the last official one) is infamous for its nightlife and criminal activities. Gangs of Wrath do their business here in human trafficking, while Gluttony and Greed magnates concoct and sell drugs of a wide variety to distribute it to the people. Of course, with its name, Lust is also the place for prostitution and fetish clubs - aside Wrath, it is one of the most dangerous (and probably most exciting) places to be for a tourist.

Wrath

Wrath is the second-lowest level of the Mohole and not per se a district but rather the life support and waste management sub-levels of all the other districts, mostly manned by slaves and runoffs from Envy. As a means of bringing some order, however, and to ensure continued operation, patrons of the upper levels sponsor gangs and thugs to keep Wrath in line. Of course, this means rival sponsors use their gangs to swipe at each other, leading to a population huddled and eager to work while these factions engage in territorial warfare whenever it pleases their masters to distinguish themselves. Nobody truly wants to live in Wrath - it is a constant struggle and fight. Those who show ruthlessness, tactical acumen, and a sense of professionalism are sweeped up in Greed or Pride PMCs or used as personal bodyguards which is the dream of every Ganger down below.

Envy

If one lives in Envy they are maybe the unluckiest people on Infernum. Here is where the Oathbreakers, the washouts, the losers, and the pathetic live. In the sludge and detritus of all the districts above, Envy is the scrapyard of the Mohole, where Greed’s ground pollution and the trash of the others are dumped into. Thus, Envy is organized in scavenger clans who fight for scraps with makeshift weaponry and try to make enough money to escape to Wrath and maybe even beyond. This occurrence is uncommon but possible - especially when they are exiled demons from the higher levels and not “natives”.

Lore
Essentials	Factions	Locations	Species	News	Miscellaneous
Vital Lore Backstory Timeline	NanoTrasen Commonwealth of Sol-Procyon Ares Confederation Unitary Alliance of Salthan Fyrds Free Trade Union Trans-Stellar Corporations United Federation United Solar Defense Force Unathi Culture	Virgo Orbital Research Establishment Virgo-Erigone Virgo-Prime Al'Qasbah ITV Talon Moghes (Unathi Homeworld) Sol Infernum Sanctorum	Akula Alraune Altevian Black Eyed Shadekin Diona Human Nevreans Promethean Proteans Shadekin Skrell Synthetics Tajaran Teshari Unathi Vasilissans Vox Vulpkanin Xenochimera Zaddat Zorren Custom Species	Periphery Post Free Anur Tribune	Infrastructure Thaler Standard Operating Procedure Admiralty law Bluespace Phoron Languages Personal Lore Catslug
Legend: Up-to-date Partially outdated Heavily outdated Partially outdated pages need a pass from lore masters to ensure they conform to current lore, but may be correct as they stand. Heavily outdated pages directly contradict established lore OR are severely lacking in lore.