Darkness of Hearts (3.5e Location)

= Darkness of Hearts, Layer 69 of the Abyss =

A place of great beauty, and great danger, Darkness of Hearts was only occupied by Malcanthet recently, and it is believed that its unusual properties are what was left of its former obyrith overlord. A place of bitter cold, beautiful white snow, and rivers of blood, Darkness of Hearts is at once wonderful to behold and deadly to reside in for any length of time.

White fiendish animals used to the cold, such as polar bears, penguins and seals, do reside here, plants are limited to the evergreen variety, where they grow at all. To compensate for this, nearly all creatures that live on this plane are vaguely vampiric, and many are outrightly so, feeding on the streams and rivers of blood on this plane. A large number of vampires and their spawn also make their homes here, and have sworn allegiance to Malcanthet in order to maintain their continued existence. One of the biggest difficulties travellers to this plane encounter is its total lack of water - any liquid water on this plane is blood.

Physical Traits

 * Gravity: Normal gravity


 * Time: Normal time


 * Size: Self-contained (spherical)


 * Morphic: Alterable morphic


 * No Water: Despite the heavy presence of ice and snow, no natural water exists on this plane. Any water brought to this plane remains as water, but any water created on the plane, as well as any ice melted or steam condensed on this plane becomes blood immediately. The blood is suitable nourishment for vampires, fiendish animals and other similar creatures, but won't make an ordinary creature less thirsty. Animals refuse to drink this blood unless they are fiendish (in which case, they do so happily).
 * Cold: The ambient temperature in Darkness of Hearts is severe cold.

Magic, Alignment, and Energy/Elemental Traits

 * Elemental Dominance: None


 * Energy Dominance: None


 * Alignment Trait: Strongly chaos-aligned and evil-aligned


 * Magic Trait: Normal magic

Plane Links
There are thirteen gates from the Plain of Infinite Portals that link to Darkness of Hearts, but only two of them are constantly-active. Ten of the remaining ones open only temporarily, and one is believed to be a 'travelling gate' which Malcanthet makes use of when she needs to leave Darkness of Hearts for some other part of the Abyss. It can otherwise be accessed normally.

Plane Inhabitants
Darkness of Hearts is reasonably well-populated, with many arctic or cold-environment fiendish animals making it their home. Succubi and nalfeshnees are also common, as they most commonly serve Malcanthet. In addition to this, several large groups of vampires call this plane home. Although these vampires do not serve Malcanthet directly, their Master Vampires have sworn non-interference in her affairs (though they haven't always held up this end of the bargain). Visitors to the plane are made to feel reasonably welcome, although they are still few.

Movement and Combat
Most of the usual laws of physics that apply on the Material Plane also apply on this plane. In general, short forays must only take into account its cold temperature - only long-term visitors need worry about its general lack of water. Vampires that live on this plane rarely hunt for living prey - the many blood-running rivers, streams and even oceans make this unnecessary.

Features of the Plane
In addition to many beautiful sections of wilderness, Darkness of Hearts features several notable sights. One of these is Tears of Regret, which is a bloodstone palace now-occupied by Malcanthet and her closest followers. Not far from this is a large stand-alone mountain, which is believed to imprison the plane's former ruler - a powerful obyrith. The mountain constantly erupts with superheated blood, which means that most of the plane's inhabitants keep it at a distance. Lastly, the Ocean of Blood occupies much of the plane's surface area, and is home to many gigantic, blood-drinking monsters the size of islands, believed to be leftovers of obyrith experiments.