The underworld can be entered only through the twisting caverns of the Great Mountains (Tetememporen in the language of the Camprye) far to the west, the Rocklands past Pirate’s Cove, and the mountains on the North end of the southern continent (Oruneda in the language of the Ife). This, at least, in the western hemisphere. The path is long and hard, through miles and miles of caverns, miles beneath the surface of the land.
There are different areas of the underworld. In the west, large open areas combine with twisting caverns to form the Kemetesupes, “deep waters” in the language of the Camprye, and the Pemenpor in the language of the Poruat. Here are the wide open ranges of the Poruat cities. Beaked sweepers live in isolated regions to the north of this area. Strange animals wander these regions—amoebic, fungoid, and the sakmat. Darkness is nearly absolute, except for the occasional glowing fungi caverns.
In the north, the leviathons of the deep singly rule their territories, often in conjunction with whatever humanoid creatures can be subjugated—a tribe of Karuat here, some Elves there, Night Trolls here. These huge creatures live in great underground lakes surrounded by tiny caverns.
Beneath the southern continent, strange creatures wander the bedrock underworld. Wild eyed killers, Kutmat, Tentamorts, and even stranger creatures all vie for power beneath the Ife Nlah.
The various underworlds all have one thing in common. Ancient, cursed gods, with such euphemisms as “The Elders”, “The Old Folks”, “The Great Ones”, or “The Kindly Ones”, are in some way worshipped. Strange creatures are called forth and occasionally wander the world. Weird rituals and sacrifices are performed to call these powerful beings.
Only rarely do these creatures wander the upper world. They must occasionally, for the Camprye have legends of creatures who vaguely resemble the Poruat, the Sakmat, and the Oruat. Of course, there is the strange relation between their languages. In Ife Nlah, the Kutmat figure prominently in legends. Although the upper classes believe them to be only legends, the lower classes still leave offerings at cave entrances to appease these strange demons.
And there are legends also of marvels. So deep that the air itself weighs upon your shoulders, on the other side of creatures too horrible to describe, stands a door bound in unbreakable iron and inlaid with silver so fine that a torch reflection lights the cavern around it.
