Hell
"Abandon All Hope, Ye Who Enter Here!" is the phrase most commonly associated with Hell and its inner workings. But you will not find these words written above the gate over the Hell run by Lucifer. In Paradis, Hell is not to punish the wicked. Hell is a form of rehabilitation of the soul, which purges evil from it. Hell is never permanent. All a soul must to do leave Hell is to repent, and to ask for God's forgiveness. God forgives the soul, and allows the soul to be reborn on Earth to live again. Almost always, the soul achieves Heaven on its second try. This is what is known as "The Agreement."

Hell, or Sheol as it was formally called, was once the mere absence of God. For the first fallen angels, this absence of God became unbearable, and began to drive them insane. However, Hell truly began to form when man first entered, dragging his sin and inner decay with him. Man believed that he was beyond the realm of God's forgiveness and began to invent twisted punishments for himself.

Hell became divided into 9 basic circles. These circles are most famous through the poem The Inferno by Dante Alighieri.

The first circle, the circle of virtuous pagans, is one of the most unused circles in Hell. Originally, one of the requirements to reach heaven was a belief in the God of the Hebrews/Christians/Muslims. In the 1700s, the policy was later changed that allowed virtuous nonbelievers into Heaven. This change in policy clear out almost every soul in circle 1 and allowed them to enter Heaven and has kept the circle empty for 300 years. Now-a-days, many fallen angels choose to go there for picnics and to relax, avoiding the lower circles.

In circle two, those who indulged in excessive pleasures of the flesh in the world find themselves trapped in a violent wind, blown around for all eternity. These lustful souls are unable to touch other spirits, doomed to be a mere soul in the wind. In the 1980s, Lucifer changed the punishment from violent wind to rotting genitalia, much to the disgust of, well, everyone.

In the next circle, the gluttons reside. In this circle, the gluttons, those who ate, drank, or indulged in pleasures (aside from the flesh) are forced to eat mud. The monster Cerberus also resides here, rendering the gluttons into many bite sized pieces. Despite the rendering into small pieces, the souls usually recollect themselves within a matter of weeks and continue their punishment.

Within circle four, the greedy are punished. Here those who hoarded possessions and those who squandered possessions are forced to roll rocks against each other in an endless stalemate.

The next circle, the circle of the Wrathful and Slothful, is an interesting circle indeed. Instead of being a circle on land, it is instead the murky, marshy waters of the river Styx. Here the wrathful and slothful reside. The wrathful fight each other in the waters, while the slothful are trapped underneath as the wrathful run over them, not allowing them to rest, ever.

Between circles 5 and 6 is the sprawling metropolis of Dis. Dis is the home of every single ruined or destroyed building, along with the home of the fallen angels of Hell. Here reside the ruins of Greece and Rome, homes and buildings that have burned, as well as towers and minefields. Of course, each building is structurally safe. In fact, each have been rebuilt and restored to their former glory, providing one of the most unique cities in existence. Despite apperances, Dis is an extremely vibriant metropolis. Many fallen own shops and sell goods to each other, creating a friendly atmosphere.

Just beyond the city of Dis is the sixth circle of hell, where the heretics reside. Here, the heretics are trapped in flaming tombs. The tombs give off such ash and fire that they extend into the third part of the seventh circle.

Circle seven is the first of the circles in Hell that is divided into several distinct parts. The first part houses those who committed violence against people or property. As a punishment, they are forced to exist in a river of boiling blood. The next part, violence against self, is commonly known as the Woods of the Suicide. Here, suicide victims are grown into tangled trees that cry out in agony as harpies nest amongst their branches. The final part of circle seven houses the blasphemers and usurers (those who loaned money to others, particularly at illegal, exorbitant or unfair rates) who are pelted with a constant rain of fire which is produced from the tombs of the heretics

Circle eight houses ten ditches, collectively known as the Malebolge. In the first ditch, panderers (pimps) and seducers are forced to run in opposite directions for eternity while being whipped by extremely vicious demons. In the next ditch, the flatterers, those who lied and used flattery for evil purposes, are covered in human excrement, as they brownnosed and ass kissed so much in life. Those who bought and sold ecclesiastical offices and pardons (the act of simony) are in the next ditch, placed head first in holes while hot flames dance across their feet. In ditch four, the false sorcerers and false prophets run around with their heads placed on backwards, only seeing what is behind them. The fifth ditch houses corrupt politicians, who are trapped in a lake of burning flames. Following the politicians, the hypocrites are made to wear heavy lead cloaks in ditch six, walking around in them for eternity. The thieves in ditch seven suffer an interesting fate indeed. They are chased by venomous snakes. After being bitten by these snakes, they are turned into snakes themselves, and then chase after other thieves in the ditch. Fraudulent advisors reside in ditch eight, where they are eternally trapped in flames. Those who sowed discord in their life are ripped apart, healed, and then ripped apart again in the ninth ditch. Falsifiers such as alchemists, impersonators and counterfeiters are punished in the tenth ditch by being constantly afflicted with various diseases.

The final circle of Hell houses traitors to kin, political entities, guests, lords and benefactors. Each faction is eternally frozen in a thick layer of ice.

In addition to the punishments dealt out here, human psychology has a habit of making Hell much worse than already described. Many souls, when faced with their punishment, are trapped in the belief that they do not deserve so light a punishment, and their minds add on terrible details that make the punishment much worse. Hell immediately adapts to their psychology, making their perception of what they deserve a reality. This is why it takes souls such a long time to repent and leave Hell.

Removed from the punishments of Hell is a large office building made of several Greek ruins, known as Pandemonium. It is the office where all of Hell's business is carried out, which includes soul assignment and reincarnation. The stables in the back are the kennels, reserved for Hell's myriad of amazing and fantastic (and slightly evil) beasts. Most of the fallen work there, removed from the pains and tortures of Hell and its soul inhabitants.