Manual of the Planes

CHAPTER 7:THE OUTERPLANES140the land becomes rougher and more mountainous untilthe traveler reaches the cascades of Eronia, the secondlayer. Here, steep valleys flank the river, which surgesthrough narrow passages.Eventually the mountains diminish and the riverspreads into a great marsh alive with insects and reptiles.This is Belierin. Finally the bottom of the marsh deepensand the traveler passes into the fourth layer of the plane,Thalasia, the headwaters of the Oceanus among the Islesof the Blessed.While the Oceanus flows between the layers of theplane, it is not a straight journey. The great river splitsinto myriad smaller flows, recombines, and splits again.Occasionally an offshoot of the river curls around andreenters the layer it just left.Vision on Elysium is just as on the Material Plane atthat particular time of day. Elysium shares a day andnight cycle with the Material Plane and has similar (ifgentler) weather. The days are warm and calm, the nightscool and comfortable.The nights are also alive with small lights. Not onlyis there a river of stars overhead in imitation of theRiver Oceanus, but fireflies dance among the trees andfields, and luminous jellyfish swim beneath the surfaceof the Oceanus.AmoriaAmoria is the topmost layer of Elysium and one of themost hospitable places on the Outer Planes—if youignore the plane’s tendency to convert long-term visitorsto full-time petitioners. Small towns dot the banksof the River Oceanus, and islands of rolling hills risefrom the river itself. Boat travel is common, and thebulk of the population of Elysium lives on this layer.Amoria is a relatively peaceful place, but it also a placewhere those who live have ample opportunities to aidothers and demonstrate goodness. There is still misfortuneon Elysium, but it seems to exist only to show thecollective power of goodness. Calamities here, such as avillage fire or a capsized boat, test and identify those whoare from other planes. Travelers to Amoria are besiegedby small errands and tasks, but if they complete them,they find powerful allies at their side.Amoria has seasons, though they are so timid that visitorsfrom the Material Plane hardly notice them. It is neithertoo hot in summer nor too cold in winter, and it rarely rainswithout a rainbow appearing immediately afterward. Theguardinals often upbraid storm giant druids and other creatureswho can control weather for causing sudden rainstorms,even if they had a good reason to do so.The rulers of the guardinals also live on Amoria.These supremely powerful guardinals are as powerful asthe archdukes of the Nine Hells or the demon princesof the Abyss. First among their number is Prince Talisid,the wisest and most powerful of leonals. Talisid’s lieutenantsare known as the Five Companions: the lupineDuke Lucan, the bearlike Duchess Callisto, the wingedDuke Windheir, the equine Lord Hwyn, and the antleredElysiumEroniaBelierinAmoriaThalasiaLord Rhanok. Together they organize the efforts of theguardinals, sending them on missions against evil andeven striking into the lower planes to recover those capturedby the forces of evil.EroniaEronia is a rising land of steep hills, sharp-toothedmountains, and white granite valleys, which divert theriver again and again. Rugged foothills coil at the basesof these mountains, high bluffs, plateaus, and mesas.Communities tend to congregate on the plateaus or insmall towns hunched between the mountains and theRiver Oceanus.The weather is fierce on Eronia; great windstorms andsnowfalls with lightning are common. The summers arehotter and the winters more bitter than on the MaterialPlane. Eronia is for the good souls who still want to bechallenged in their afterlife.Those who live here do so at the whim of the mountainsthemselves. Often parts of great hills slide into the river,blocking it in some locations and forcing it into new channelsin others. Eronia is a place of rugged peace, its mountainslost in luminous clouds above and a challenge to anyclimber. Here the wind whips around mightily, and eventhe winged avoral guardinals have some difficulty flying.All creatures with a fly speed have their maneuverabilityreduced to the next lower category (perfect to good, goodto average, average to poor, poor to clumsy). Clumsyfliers remain clumsy.