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The High Fantasy World of Hell
High Fantasy
High fantasy genre means the world has been fully developed before writing the series, and not developed on the fly. This makes the world more predictable in some ways, and means I have to be more imaginative in finding solutions. If I just make things up, you will catch me.
Setting
In this series, the underworld has many places. One is a waste pit full of greyness, ashes, smoke, glowing red pits, red fire plumes and flames, red fumes, and miserable people who are either fighting with others to get their way, or are weeping at their folly in life. The fires expose their impure motives, and for some all that is left is ashes. Those who continue to obsess on the negative (Enumi) disintegrate into ashes over time. The series only visits this place to get characters, who John either stumbles over (they've been there a while), or they land at his feet after just dying in a fit of terminal stupidity.
There are many things in Hell, dragged there by demons, who sometimes escape into our world. So a car may show up.
My inspiration for the "punishment" places of Hell came from a series in the Terre Haute Tribune funny papers, in the 1960s. It might have been Matt Groening's Life In Hell. It was a tongue in cheek depiction of what happens to the kind of irritating people we all bump elbows with in life. This part is in the story for amusement.
More pointedly, others are there because they are uncertain where they belong, and especially can't forgive themselves. They have unresolved issues about their status or their purpose. They don't feel deserving of anything good, yet they don't feel deserving of punishment. They died before resolving these things, so they are in limbo. For example, in the movie, What Dreams May Come, Chris Nielson's wife, Annie, kills herself and ends up stuck in Hell. Chris goes to Hell and successfully rescues her.
Asphedolus, in Ancient Greek literature, is an in-between region of the underworld "Hell" which is for those who were neither bad nor good. It is between the Hell of "eye for an eye" torture (Tartarus) and the Elysian Fields of good treatment, and near the fringe of Hell, which is known as "Limbo." Mythology evolves with the times, so I upgraded it to an area of pleasant small towns and land. It is a parallel universe that mirrors the universe of the living, separated by an invisible wall, but with different people.
Asphedolus is where the characters live and work out their purpose and future. It is fashioned very much like modern day US, complete with people, cars, trucks, etc. It can grow in size. It is self-sufficient but requires work. It is not totally safe from invasion from Hell and its demons. This is the primary focus of the series.
The characters have their full physical attributes, and can feel pleasure and pain, and be physically transformed, but can’t be physically damaged or destroyed. However, their body parts can be separated in ways that make it difficult for them to pull themselves back together.
Arrival and abilities. When people arrive, they are unaware of what they can do, and learn these things slowly. People in this world have similar lives to those on Earth. They have the power to go anywhere, including the mortal realm of earth and can even be seen. They can do almost anything, but they are self-limiting. They go to ways of life that they are attracted to.
Those who fill their minds with hate and selfishness are drawn to the demonic and slowly deteriorate. They change from demons to the Enumi (vampires and zombies). There are no psychotic problems here – any physical problem is now whole.
A certain amount of possession of people in the world of the living is possible. Those who wish harm to others sometimes visit the mortal realm and may inhabit others who have similar tendencies. They can't physically harm anyone themselves, and generally can't be seen, but they add to the influence in people to harm others. Those in Asphedolus can also go to the world of the living and stop the Enumi.
Mechanism of change. Memories are much more vivid in this realm, without all of the baggage from the previous world surrounding them and directing their attention and keeping them focused on specific things.
They can choose to focus on bad memories, hate, revenge, destruction, pain, grief, guilt, and hopelessness, then these will be very captivating to them and dominate their mind. If they are among the demons, and especially the Enumi, all of their bad and painful memories stand out and drag them down. If an angel is present, her pure love overcomes all this negativity, and can free the person from the Enumi.
If they choose to focus on memories of being loved and loving others, of being cared for, of caring for others, of good times, of playful moments, of accomplishment, of contribution, of purpose, then these memories help rescue them and make it possible for them to move forward.
For some, rescue is a problem of perception. Some people who are born into environments without love do not perceive that they have been loved at other points in their lives, and they may not have been. Sometimes they are trained to miss the love of others and interpret it as some selfish deed. It can be the character’s task to help them reinterpret their memories. Sometimes the slimmest of memories give the person something to hold on to.
Paradise. This is where the really good souls reside, particularly those who are very fond of what they do and the friends they have, and want to continue that existence. There are many teachers here. Many go on to higher planes of existence, such as to become angels.
Hangouts. There are various restaurants and cafes in Asphedolus. An ice cream stand is on the street.
Minor characters. Hell’s volunteer legions make it possible for the characters to have a wider "tempting" experience and to fail (or learn). Some are demons who don’t necessarily want to hurt them, they just have no idea what being "good" is all about. They only know self-interest and fighting. Some of Hell’s legions were bad people who will always be in Hell because they hate anything good since it's against their basic nature.
The Characters in This World
Demons and Enumi
Demons are people who lived, and have not found it within themselves to follow love. They exist here until the hate, vengeance, and other negative emotions are refined out of them. They are extremely self-critical. They may perish here as Enumi if they can’t find love and self-forgiveness in their hearts. Many try to rescue them – they are not beyond rescue - but usually fail.
Demons have the outward ugliness of negative thoughts and emotions. They feel emotions of self-loathing, hate, anger, dislike, disappointment, dread, impatience, helpless, hopeless, desperate, ashamed, exposed, empty, vulnerable, unappreciated, unworthiness, and rejection. Their humanity withdraws as they become more like monsters. They are desperate to get what they want, which is acceptance and a life, and the other good things that others have. But their inability to forgive themselves and accept love prevents them from getting it, so they become manipulative and power hungry, thinking that these things will help them get what others have. They communicate in languages through the ages when they lived, but English is universal for them.
The Demons Have Three Influences:
1) Paranoia. They are eternally paranoid, thinking that life is against them and they always get the short end of the stick… which they also feel they deserve. It is very difficult to elicit a positive emotion from them, or for them to have empathy. John and some of the others take special pains to turn them around, but usually fail.
2) Evil demons, and other demons, can come and organize them to do bad things. They are easily led.
3) The Enumi. There are demons who have deteriorated into Enumi, nearly lifeless beings with no joy or good traits left, who can surround others and bring them down with their hateful, depressing states, which often brings out these overwhelming feelings within others.
Many demons are a mixture of good and bad deeds. While they self-judge their treatment of others in life, and usually see themselves as tilting the scales in the wrong direction, and they are misled into thinking it is about their deeds. It is ab
out their redeeming qualities - they are all loved and given another chance…. In Asphedolus… if they want it… but they usually can’t grasp it.
Zombies and vampires. The Enumi are generally looked on as zombies and vampires, which have no life or love in them but their influence sucks the life out of people. Vampires, like demons, wish they had lives, thus their destructive thirst for other’s lives, just as they did in mortal life. In mortal life they infected others with their destructive lust to suck the life out of others. They can still go to Earth and do this. Zombies are simply too far gone and are destructive, often sent by the vampires to make an area theirs. They have love so far recessed in their hearts that they can’t be reached by others' love. Theirs is nothing but a path of destruction.
The terrifyingly paralyzing effect of being trapped by the Enumi is not endless – a trapped good soul can escape the Enumi by finding enough love in their hearts, or be rescued from them by others. Sometimes demons are punished by throwing them to the Enumi, where their bad traits are amplified and they become in great psychic pain. Sometimes the demons don’t survive this, and become Enumi. A zombies or vampire who gets too far out of line can be thrown into the Lake Of Fire, or a green (freshly living) wooden stake driven through their heart.
The Enumi’s final state is ashes. Those who despair and hate themselves and others, and can’t forgive themselves, have cut themselves off from love, and either become Enumi or throw themselves into the Lake Of Fire.
Some of the more powerful demons have organizations of demons and Enumi, and can direct them to get their bidding done. They are a destructive force in all the underworld and among the living. The Enumi often roam in destructive groups, glowing red embers at the heart of them, catching all in their net that they can, hoping to pull some piece of life from their unsuspecting catch. The center of the Enumi circle is a pit of destruction. They are defeated by love, which releases the trapped from the Enumi’s bond.
Other evil spirits. There are many evil and powerful spirits in this realm. They sow hate and discontent, and are the authors of evil intentions (intentionally harming others). None have the power of love, so they are very limited in what they can actually do to people other than mislead their minds and influence their actions. They can’t control people, destroy them, or harm them. Without conscience, their motives are exposed by the light, but they are satisfied with themselves and do not disintegrate into ashes over time. However, they can be thrown into the Lake Of Fire. These demons are taller and more powerful than the other demons.
There can also be others, like Vagabones, who are also more powerful spirits, but either good, or a mixture of good and self-interest.
Angels. The angels were originally all created beings, like Vagabones. As human souls developed and reached states of purity, they too wanted to be like angels. So most of the angels in this series are mostly beings who were once human, and have become both enlightened and experienced, and have become beings of nearly pure love. Some adopt angelic names for themselves. Some are innocent – usually children who died, although these usually get a parenting and growth experience in Asphedolus or Paradise.
When in this realm, angels transform into a physical form and they experience things in the same way as others. The more advanced angels are largely the ones who get to lead the angels here. They are all beautiful beings, both visually, and in their compassion and actions, but most aren’t fools. Their experience on Earth makes them streetwise, and their development makes them spiritually wise. But the demons view them as stupid and try to take advantage of their good hearts and willingness to help.
The angels sometimes lead people to other dimensions, such as Earth, and often assume protective rolls for people here and in our world. However, they typically will not lead new arrivals back to Earth. There is no vile or revenge in them.
The angels protect people in all realms from attacks by the demons and Enumi. It takes someone pure of heart to stop the demons and Enumi.
People move from one area or dimension to another at first through the leading of Psychopomps. These are beings like Charon, who transport people over the River Styx. Family members and angels also do this. After people who have been in Asphedolus a while, they learn how to move between dimension without guides, but they don't feel comfortable in other dimensions, so they don't stay there.
Outward appearances can be changed at will by the dead. Angels and some demons can take on the appearance and characteristics of people and loved ones who the residents left behind and need to resolve things with.
Others. In the Paradise section, there are teachers and other souls from history who sometimes come into Asphedolus to assist, or for travel, etc.
My Inspiration
Do I believe Asphedolus is a real world? I have no reason to believe so. Christ likened the suffering of those who intentionally hurt themselves or others as a lake of fire, or being abandoned in a trash pit, or in outer darkness. It is immediate, now. Some are simply evil and apparently perish entirely. The Kingdom of God he talked about is also immediate, now, available by forgiveness now. To me, in religion and spirituality, forgiveness and acceptance come from the grace of God as a free gift, not as something we deserve. So my beliefs are minimally reflected in this series, especially in human nature and forgiveness. Asphedolus is just a great setting for a story.
English Language Dialects Used In This Book
The language of some characters in this book is meant to be reflective of people in England and America from the early 16th. to late 17th. Centuries, including Ireland, and the pirates who were more so from South West England. Where the language was too clumsy or unclear, I simply used more modern words. The language helps make the character by using unique sentence construction and wording, and is used for no other reason. It isn't meant to be strictly accurate, and shouldn't be quoted as a true representation.
William: South West England
Cat: Ireland
Mary: US
About the Author
Dorian Scott Cole is a writer by profession, with education and experience in technology, psychology, religion, radio announcing, acting, and as a field engineer, having had full careers in several fields. He worked as a senior development analyst for Writers Workshop, L.A. He teaches writing and acting in independent settings, and has written VisualWriter.com since 1996.
He is the author of several Web sites, and produces entertainment videos through his company, Movie Stream Productions. His production series, STL Comedy, included 22 professional actors, and 10 writers.
Watch for other books by this author
Coming soon:
The Dion's Enigmas™ series: Legal dramedy. Dion Vine is an attorney who demands justice, but be careful what you demand. Nothing is ever as it seems with his clients, and they make him crazy. His girlfriend and clients want to be good, but it's hard work keeping them all out of jail.
My Three offspring (working title): Comedy about a family that solves unusual societal problems and manages to avoid getting arrested or killing anyone.
The following author's books are regularly available at book etailers. Watch for them in new outlets.
Death by Christmas: Be Kind Or It May Kill You ISBN 9781310689499
Writers Workshop Script Doctor, ISBN 1-890039-02-0
Ontology of God, ISBN 9781890039035
The Prophetic Pattern, ISBN 978-1-890039-04-2
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