Days in the Abyss (part one)
A very long stairway stretches into the darkness shrouding the heart of Hell. 'Tis a spiral stairway, so that, if necessary, those less capable of traversing its length can just fall in. Important note: this is the only luxury offered to the condemned. Smart ones, of course, will try to delay the pain and punishment ahead by taking their time with the monumentous task of descending that stairway. However, it is rumored that one of the more active sects of Angels are known for "aiding" those who take too long in doing this. I, myself, took my time with it, but kept a steady pace as to not provoke a bored Seraph into tossing me in.
It generally takes a week to get in, unless you take the express path, but a week is only a few seconds in Earth time, and the spirit's rate of exhaustion follows the latter schedule, so becoming tired is near impossible. Becoming dispirited is somewhat more easy, though, as staring down at the billions of stairs ahead tends to wear on even the heartiest travellers, the ones with the most calloused feet and the ones with the longest beards and impressive walking sticks made of an ancient wood only found in the fifth corner of the world. I passed several men who were in the middle of strange fits of babbling, having gone mad from the sheer massiveness of the task at hand.
My spirit held, and so I was able to reach the bottom, which is filled with uninviting sights and sounds. Most prominent are the Ghalls. Foul creatures that wander around in the darkness, howling from envy of those less hollow, they are the biproduct of years of fashioning in the vents and furnaces of Hell, decayed souls with nothing left but despair and jealousy. Ghalls are rarely seen, even by Hell's veterans, as they lurk in the absolute darkness of the entry lair, but I was once "graced" with a glance at what souls become after the absolute psychic destruction Hell inflicts. Long and spineless, they double over backwards so that their loose heads and arms drag on the ground behind them. A vertical mouth climbs from their pelvic regions to the middle of their chests, and 'tis from this mouth that the wretched wails climb. Ghalls' flesh appears rubbery and flabby, as if they are carrying more than they need. Bound to their thin ankles are bangles from the days when they were hung upside down to simultaneously burn and be spinally raped by Dominators.
It generally takes a week to get in, unless you take the express path, but a week is only a few seconds in Earth time, and the spirit's rate of exhaustion follows the latter schedule, so becoming tired is near impossible. Becoming dispirited is somewhat more easy, though, as staring down at the billions of stairs ahead tends to wear on even the heartiest travellers, the ones with the most calloused feet and the ones with the longest beards and impressive walking sticks made of an ancient wood only found in the fifth corner of the world. I passed several men who were in the middle of strange fits of babbling, having gone mad from the sheer massiveness of the task at hand.
My spirit held, and so I was able to reach the bottom, which is filled with uninviting sights and sounds. Most prominent are the Ghalls. Foul creatures that wander around in the darkness, howling from envy of those less hollow, they are the biproduct of years of fashioning in the vents and furnaces of Hell, decayed souls with nothing left but despair and jealousy. Ghalls are rarely seen, even by Hell's veterans, as they lurk in the absolute darkness of the entry lair, but I was once "graced" with a glance at what souls become after the absolute psychic destruction Hell inflicts. Long and spineless, they double over backwards so that their loose heads and arms drag on the ground behind them. A vertical mouth climbs from their pelvic regions to the middle of their chests, and 'tis from this mouth that the wretched wails climb. Ghalls' flesh appears rubbery and flabby, as if they are carrying more than they need. Bound to their thin ankles are bangles from the days when they were hung upside down to simultaneously burn and be spinally raped by Dominators.