Jangling Hiter

❌

Jangling Hiter, called the City of Chains or Torture City, was a city in Minauros, the third layer of the Nine Hells. It was dominated by chain devils, also known as kytons, and within their city there were no weak links.

Description
A few sensations defined life in Jangling Hiter: the feel of rusty, slimy chains on the skin mixed with the smell of decaying, greasy metal in a claustrophobic and acrophobia-inducing environment.

Geography
Unlike most other cities in Minauros, Jangling Hiter was not constantly sinking into the swamp, a bizarre solution having been found for the layer's infirm foundations. The City of Chains was suspended by a network of thick, unfathomably long, slimy and razor-augmented chains connected to posts positioned throughout the metropolis. By this method, the lowest portions of Hiter just skimmed the seething swamp below.

Jangling Hiter was like a jungle of metal, with all its structures, from the cellars to the tents, composed entirely out of chains. This medium did little to protect inhabitants from Minauros's horrid rain and deadly sleet, which could reach even those clustered indoors, so most settled for getting beneath a great concentration of chains. The chains were coated with algae and grime and often studded with barbs or razors, making them hard to grip and almost impossible to climb.

Flora & Fauna
Horrible creatures called hellchain weavers were the subject of many justified rumors within Jangling Hiter, sadistic, canny, monstrous spiders which even the kytons feared, and whose rusting webs could be found within the city's depths.

Cosmology
Exactly what the chains of Jangling Hiter were attached to or how they were held in place was an utter mystery. None seemed to know and the residents treated it with remarkable indifference, perhaps because asking would suggest oneself to be a foreigner and therefore a potential victim. A commonly accpeted theory was that the chains somehow pierced the boundary of the planar layers and attached themselves to Dis on the other side. In the World Axis cosmology, they were simply anchored to the cavern ceiling, but otherwise they disappeared into the sky behind the hail-laden clouds.

Trying to climb the support chains instigated a strange effect where, past up, the climber would gain no more distance. To everyone, including themselves, they would seemingly continue scaling the chains, but the truth became evident once they fell back down.

Government
In the mid–14 century DR, the city was ruled by the hamatula Pollus Windscreamer, but it was rumored that he was just a figurehead, while the true rulers of the city were the chain devils. Though the kytons here largely treated each other as equals, they usually deferred to Quimath, known to be especially clever and making his home in Panos Qytel.

Trade
The chain devils of Jangling Hiter specialized in developing and executing precise methods of torture and partitioning of souls. Their services were highly sought after by entities such as Asmodeus and Levistus.

The entire city was permeated by the sounds of screams from the souls that were constantly tortured there. An unaccustomed visitor who sought to avoid drawing attention from the city's inhabitants had great difficulty in hiding any reaction to the horrific sounds.

Defenses
Jangling Hiter technically possessed defensive installations, but these were purely cosmetic. Its great stone walls were unguarded and had a breach where rancid filth was dumped, and the metal gate at the entrance constantly clattered and clanged in the wind.

Inhabitants
The city was populated by chain devils. They were egalitarian, at least with regard to other kytons, and didn't argue about standing. They occasionally bickered and fought over the remains of their victims; the winner claimed the prize and the loser fled into the city.

The chain devils served as Jangling Hiter's brutal police force or constabulary. They enforced its laws, rooted out rule-breakers, and punished them.

Notable Locations
The city was divided into three districts, which grouped one or more square wards. The main districts were the Fiend District, the Merchant District, and the Visitors' District, sometimes called the Abattoir or Meat District. The only location actually welcoming to visitors was the Merchants' District.

In the core of Jangling Hiter was Panos Qytel, a cathedral-like building with three towers.

The Infinite Staircase had a landing somewhere in Jangling Hiter, granting access from the planes to Minauros.