Pit of the Gaping Maw
Gate to Smaragd, Abyssal layer 74
In the desolate and chaotic landscape of Pazunia, amidst the suffocating despair and the distorted reality, there lies a hidden pit. This isn’t your garden-variety hole in the ground, oh no, it’s a portal, a mysterious gateway to one of the Abyss’ better kept secrets — the vibrant, ever-changing realm of Smaragd.
This pit, it’s like a mouth of a hungry beast, lying in wait, surrounded by sharp, jagged rocks that resemble teeth ready to gnash the unwary. The descent into it is a venture only for the bravest of souls or perhaps the most foolish of primes; it’s like going down the gullet of some great creature. As you get deeper, the air changes, the stench of Pazunia giving way to a rich, humid atmosphere that clings to your skin like the caress of an incubus. It’s a transition most jarring when a sudden burst of colour and life erupts from the bleakness, a testament to the Abyss’s capacity for both beauty and horror.
Once through the portal, you find yourself in Smaragd, a riot of colour and a carnival of jungle sounds, a place so vibrant it could give the Sensates a run for their jink. Picture towering trees with foliage of every hue, from the brightest yellows to the most sombre blues, an ever-changing canvas painted by a barmy artist with no regard for taste or restraint.
And oh, the critters that inhabit this place! It’s like a gathering of all the beasties from the planes who got thrown out for being too colourful. You’ll find snakes slithering amongst the leaves, their scales glistening with vibrant patterns that could put Bifrost to shame. Then there are the frogs, berk, frogs like you’ve never seen, hoppin’ here and there, a movin’ mosaic of brilliant hues and shimmering textures.
But don’t let the beauty fool you, cutter; this place is even more deadly than it is beautiful, a perfect embodiment of the Abyss’s dichotomy of allure and danger. Every step in Smaragd is a dance with danger, where the vibrant flora hides predators with a taste for flesh, and the mesmerising fauna can enchant you into a stupor before delivering a killing blow.
The plants, oh the plants, cutter! They are not just there for show, no sir. Some of them can lure you in with their captivating fragrance, only to snatch you up in a tight grasp. Others offer fruits tempting with delicious scents, but one bite, and you’ll find your very essence draining away, a slow, tantalizing death as the jungle claims yet another victim. Yet, for all its dangers, there’s something undeniably captivating about Smaragd. It’s a place of untamed beauty, a realm where cruel chaos and wild, unrestrained life flourish in a cacophony of colour and sound.
Source: Jon Winter-Holt, mimir.net
