District 82

Far removed from the central bureaucracy of Hell’s administrative core and the
perpetual carnage of the Eternal War Fronts lies District 82, a mostly
forgotten
corner of the infernal realm where neglect has created an unexpected haven for
those who exist on the margins of demonic society. This expansive territory
centers around the vast expanse of the Black Forest, whose twisted trees grow
to impossible heights, their branches intertwining to create a canopy so dense
that in some areas, no light penetrates to the forest floor.

The district’s primary settlement, Refuge, sprawls along the forest’s eastern
edge, a haphazard collection of structures built from scavenged materials,
bone, chitin, and the hardened secretions of various hell-beasts. Originally
established as a temporary camp for deserters from the Third Legion during the
Obsidian Rebellion, the settlement has grown over centuries into a permanent
community with its own peculiar social order. Governance falls to the Council
of Necessity, comprised of representatives from the settlement’s major
factions: deserter demons and a few desperate escapees.

Deep within the Black Forest stands the Grove of Whispers, where trees with
bark like polished onyx grow in perfect circles around pools of luminescent
liquid that neither evaporates nor can be removed from its depression. These
pools serve as neutral ground for clandestine meetings and illicit trades, as
they dampen all magical surveillance and prevent violence within their
immediate vicinity, a property that many believe indicates they predate the
realm corrupting into hell.

The northwestern quadrant of District 82 hosts the Reclamation Fields, where
failed experiments in fleshforming are discarded by the other legions.
This grotesque landscape of partially formed bodies and autonomous limbs is
carefully harvested by the district’s flesh-crafters, who have developed
techniques to stabilize and repurpose these castoffs.

Beneath the surface of District 82 runs an extensive network of tunnels,
originally excavated as emergency evacuation routes during Hell’s early civil
wars but long since abandoned by official forces. These passages, known
collectively as the Undertrade, serve as both transportation system and
marketplace for goods that would be confiscated or destroyed in more regulated
areas of Hell. Access to the Undertrade is jealously guarded by the Tunnel
Wardens, a loose confederation of demons who have evolved to thrive in
perpetual darkness.

The greatest danger facing District 82 comes not from within but from periodic
“cleansing operations” launched by Hell’s central administration, typically
when a new commander rises to power and seeks to demonstrate authority by
enforcing compliance in outlying regions. These campaigns rarely penetrate
deep into the Black Forest, as the trees themselves seem to respond to
intrusion, shifting positions to confuse invaders and occasionally exhibiting
more direct defensive capabilities against larger forces.

For those seeking to escape notice in the infernal realms, District 82 offers
a harsh but viable alternative to the rigid hierarchies and constant warfare
that characterize much of Hell.