The Beyond

The Beyond is a mysterious plane of existence which occasionally encroached on the physical world. A shadowy limbo vaguely akin to the Afterlife, it served as the source of the many supernatural menaces which threatened the "Realm of the Living." In a number of cases, it was a grey, lifeless Purgatory inhabited by rotting corpses; in others, a place of perpetual torment akin to Hell (although it was rarely defined as such).

The Beyond seemed to be the abode of all of humanity's worst fears; vampires, ghosts and demons existed alongside dragons, witches and harpies. All seemed generally hostile towards mankind; some periodically crossed over to prey on selected victims or to seek vengeance on former tormentors. The traffic appeared to flow in both directions; mortals could inadvertently find themselves trapped in the Beyond before the end of their natural lives.

Access to the Beyond took numerous forms. Ghostly express trains made midnight runs to the other side, carrying the spirits of the recently departed. Phantom cruise liners ferried moldering passengers through the Sea of the Dead. Unwary travelers often found themselves making a one-way trip on the Road to Nowhere. Sometimes, mechanized transport was completely unnecessary - swamps, caves and haunted houses all seemed to lie within the outer boundaries of The Beyond.

The Ruling Caste
Doctor Death: a malign avatar of The Grim Reaper, ruling over a kingdom of supernatural beings. While rarely engaging in direct confrontations, he frequently orchestrates catastrophic events in the "Mortal Realm," sometimes resulting in millions of fatalities.

The Revenant. Kathulos of Egypt is the head librarian in The Hall of The Damned. While his chief role is to document the Dark History of the cosmos, his vast knowledge makes him one of the most dangerous beings in the universe, having access to the forbidden lore of The Elder Ones.

Countess Siroon, aka The Countess. A vampiric aristocrat tasked with guarding one of the many gateways to The Beyond. One of Doctor Death's most devoted acolytes, she preys on human victims to satisfy her blood lust and draw the innocent into eternal damnation. Nameless Cults identifies her as one of Lilith's misbegotten progeny, though these rumors remain largely unconfirmed.

The Book Master: a scheming, sadistic monster who destroys human lives for his own amusement. Assuming the appearance of an elderly shop keeper, he brokers deals with various demonic entities (including Siroon and Kathulos) to bolster his own power in The Beyond. Guardian to one of the main portals to Gehenna, he traffics human souls as a form of currency.