Othrys

Othrys,  also called Orthrys or Titan's Home, was the first layer of Carceri.

Description
Othrys looked like a bead of planet-sized orbs without a string. The distance between two orbs was about 100 miles (160 kilometers).

Geography
Othrys was mostly swampland. The Styx and other waters eroded the ground, producing bogs and even quicksand. However, dry land existed in the form of mountains. They were often inhabited by titans. These mountains were sometimes tall enough to touch other orbs' mountain peaks, as in the case of Mount Othrys.

Features
Compared to the other layers of Carceri, Othrys had few natural hazards.

In Carceri, the Styx ran only in Othrys. It ran freely, causing the ground of Othrys to be filled with its memory-loss magic.

This erosion led to the quicksand that was mentioned above. These quicksands were between 2 to 2000 feet (0.6 to 600 meters) deep and glowed with green light that was often hidden by green grass.

The swamps had swarms of mosquitoes and other insects. A means to protect against these insects was a local plant called stinkweed that could be rubbed on the body. However, rubbing it on the body worked like a stinking cloud that knocked out a person for one to four minutes.

The air of Othrys was dangerous to the mind. Inhaling it over an extended period&mdash;a week or two&mdash;resulted in a person becoming more intelligent but also egoistic and scheming. This effect wore off after spending about the same time outside of Othrys.

However, Othrys's most dangerous feature was its music. This music sounded like it was played on slightly off-kilter bells and made people believe that it led to their heart's desire. According to the only one who managed to come back from hearing it, a person by the name Vyaki, the music led outside of the string of orbs to a gulf where monsters older than the titans lived.

Locations
Villages in Othrys were generally built on stilts in the swamp. This was because the dry parts were often controlled by titans and people preferred the dangers of the swamp over the ones posed by the titans. Each of these villages had their own government and diplomatic relationships with other villages. However, raiding and betrayal were common. The latter erupted into particularly bloody battles.

Notable Locations

 * Bastion of Last Hope
 * The headquarters of the Revolutionary League, the Bastion of the Last Hope was a place where people could buy any form of forged documents, plastic surgery for disguise, and other services for deception.


 * Mount Othrys
 * Mount Othrys was the home of of the Titans, the eleven children of Uranus and Gaea. In particular, Mount Othrys held Cronus's palace.

Inhabitants
Titans lived on Othrys and were sought out for their advice and some people actually got it from them.

The petitioners of Othrys were the souls of people who used lies to gain power, like traitors to their own countries, politicians, religious frauds, and so on. They were all very charismatic and smooth talkers but also compulsive liars who hoped to betray others with their lies.

Trolls inhabited the swamps of Othrys. This was not only because it was their favorite terrain but also because the titans did not want the trolls in their vicinity.