Welcome to Gaia! ::

▐▐ EARTH>>

Earth is the world, almost exactly as you and I know it today, it huddles in its galaxy oblivious to the forces which war over its inhabitants. It has many capital cities (which I will not patronise you by listing here) and a long and bloody history. The influences of heaven and hell have been subtle and nuanced over the years but manifest in any number of places.

Sometimes, due to the administrative tangle of it all, they are not entirely sure which of them is responsible for any given event and humans in their employ are often working for both factions at the same time.

Earth is fragile, high stakes, and frankly a bit of a mess.

▐▐ PURGATORY>>
Purgatory is the only completely neutral realm in existence. Bordering all realms it is the central hub between Heaven, Hell and Earth. This is where the Nephilim partially live out their day to day lives though understandably many prefer Earth to the desolate and often hostile landscape.

Terrain
Purgatory is for the most part composed of strange shifting mists, thickening unexpectedly on unwary wanderers before thinning out to reveal strange contorted landscapes of grey stone and dust. Visually the majority of the land is in ruins, blasted by the ancient war between the fallen angels and heaven and rendered incapable of life. Rumours persist that somewhere in these lands is the rich and verdant garden of Eden where the original blueprints for Earth itself lie, ripe for the taking but no Host has ever succeeded in finding it.
There are very rare oases scattered throughout purgatory, with twisted and mutant plants growing up from undrinkable pools of iridescent and toxic water but for the most part it is void of natural life.
Predominantly Purgatory is exemplified by grey stone and sand and the slumped ruins of what were at one point potentially grand and ancient civilisations rendered a long forgotten casualty of divine war.

Weather
The weather in purgatory can turn from uncannily still to a ripping and tearing sandstorm in a heartbeat and in what passes for daylight hours the white light shining through the grey fog can increase to nearly unbearable levels, burning the skin of the unsheltered creature.

Cities
There are several cities in Purgatory, almost all of them Nephilim-centric. These cities are mostly made up of materials and blueprints which the Nephilim bring through from Earth and as such the buildings range wildly in both style and era from corrugated iron shacks to crafted faux-greek properties.

Sheol is the capital.

Non-Combat
Combat is forbidden in Purgatory and anyone daring to break this ancient edict is subject to punishment at the hands of their own faction. Both Heaven and Hell are ruthless in carrying out these verdicts, both despite their opposite natures unwilling to breach the present purgatorial truce and once again descend into all-out war.

The Labs
The central cluster of buildings dominating the most hospitable plain in Purgatory is the eponymously titled Facility where Heaven and Hell both collaborate on experimentation and investigations into means to resolve the conflict between them both. Security is high and though specific nephilim are permitted to work within the Facility itself it is not open to everyone.
The sort of work which goes on within the impassable grey walls, topped with long and lethal loops of barbed wire and guarded by layer upon layer of enchantment is - for most denizens of Purgatory – a complete mystery.

▐▐ HEAVEN>>
Heaven is an extensive realm split into numerous “levels”, considered in an upward direction in consideration of the concentration of power.

The Gates – Vast, golden and imposing, the gates of heaven appear differently to every individual. To some they stand wide and inviting, as to those who live within that realm and to others closed and barred against those who consciously or otherwise reject the realm within their very hearts. In this way they are never barred to the worthy but remain impermeable to the fallen.

Lower Levels – The lowest levels are the most hospitable, housing the weaker or younger Angels. These levels are used for holding heaven’s captive sinners and prisoners of the war in an environment which will not kill them outright. This is considered the militant part of heaven and it is also here where the armies are garrisoned and outfitted in their armour and weapons for combat. The level lowest and closest to purgatory is where souls harvested by either Faction are assessed and recycled before being returned to Earth, their memories and deeds chronicled in the eternal annals of Heaven itself.

Mid Levels – These levels primarily house the residential parts of heaven, great libraries on one level, a rich natural world nothing like Earth on another, much of the business of heaven goes on within these central levels, immersed in songs of praise and jubilation there are many Angels who never leave nor wish to but remain oblivious to the trials and tribulations of the world beyond the gates.

Upper Levels – The upper levels are not densely populated with only a limited number of Angels suited to the high levels of energy. Regardless of this they ring with pleasant music at all times, the very substance of the realms composed of a sonorous and musical matter. The upper realms are where LIFE is experienced in its purest forms, crystallising in vast and elaborate structures which adorn the buildings and rooms of these levels.
These levels are also where heaven’s innate laboratories are housed, perpetually vetted and watched for any inclination towards the bad science which resulted in the Fall but eternally striving to find ways to either cure, purify or eliminate the Demons and Nephilim.

Top Level - The uppermost level is where the King is said to reside and at present is accessible to no one with even the penultimate level endurable to only one Angel in all the host of heaven.

Appearance
Heaven ranges enormously in its general appearance but throughout all the levels, terrains and iterations there remains a common theme of light and perfection which runs throughout. Everything is a little too free of flaw or fault and the general appearance of things is naturally organic and alien to human eyes. The higher levels are beautiful beyond measure, crafted in bright precious metals and set with impossible gemstones, streets winding cobbled through buildings of stretched and celestial architecture.

If Heaven was classified as a type of energy it would be nuclear, ever burning and clean but with a radiance which sears those unprepared to face it. It is said that the upper levels damage through erasing the impure or imperfect parts of those who enter them. In the case of a mortal this would mean any mutated cell, any imbalanced chemical. In short, it would mean an instant death without protective wards in place to shade them from the celestial brilliance.

Some levels defy human imagining, endless whiteness littered with the abstract elements of furniture or rooms which shift and change as required.

Weather
Heaven is lit perpetually from above by the light which filters down from the highest level. It is never dark, at night inching into only a pleasant and relaxing twilight, never slipping into the darkest part of night as witnessed on earth.

When there is weather it is kind and temperate, with snowfalls which do not sting or freeze, breezes which bring fresh scents of spring and life and rainfall which nourishes the landscape and promotes flourishing and verdant growth. The single harsh aspect of Heaven’s landscape is the aforementioned enduring light which can be too much to look at and induces many Host to shield or avert their eyes in humility.

Cities
There are several primary cities within heaven, each residing at a different level in the hierarchy.

▐▐ THE INSTITUTES>>The institutes are the facilities within the human world which offer Hosts of the respective factions a place to live if they fall upon hard times or have not established a foothold on Earth. They straddle Purgatory and Earth and are access points to the human world and as such no combat is permitted within their grounds, a rule strictly and brutally enforced, if a Host wishes to settle a conflict it must be done elsewhere.

Within the institute of their respective faction all Hosts are entitled to -

• A single dormitory style room fitted to suit their respective needs in a generally very basic manner.
  
• Access to a bar/dining area outfitted in a human fashion with free low quality human world food (to help those new to the plane adjust or - in the case of Nephilim - to keep their body alive.
  
• Notifications of events and missions. There are various mission boards within these areas and generally they are seen as a hub for operations and socialising by the Hosts in the world.
  

Beyond this the Institutes vary greatly, a summary of their respective locations and style follow below.

▐▐ HELL’S INSTITUTE>>
Located in the heart of sunny California, Hell’s Institute is a technological wonderland.

Mostly billed as being “cooler than Heaven’s, like, way cooler”, it is stuffed with everything a vice and sin oriented demon could possibly want. Also, really good internet access. There is a frankly shady bath house, an aquarium that seems to mainly be full of sharks, and a cafeteria that is loaded with donut burgers, chili cheese fries, chocolate fountains, and anything that delights the senses and clogs the arteries. There is no library, because books are outdated, but there are plenty of corporate seminars and videos that explain the deal (usually with the help of the latest pop artists).

Humans are welcomed (and encouraged) on the ground floor, where demons can practice their tempting in a friendly environment. Angels are also welcome to explore the ground floor if they follow the rules and don't get too preachy, although the Angelic Institute strictly forbids them going over to the Hell Institute at all.

If Heaven’s Institute announces any remodeling or new features, Hell’s Institute is sure to reveal their own heavily modified upgrade a week later to upstage them. Above the Institute is their slogan, “WIDE IS THE PATH” and below that, “better satisfaction rates since forever B.C.!”

▐▐ HEAVEN’S INSTITUTE>>

Heaven’s institute is in a very upscale area of the British Countryside, within what seems like a large mansion turned country club with its own attached grounds. It is inaccessible to humans and anyone accidentally crossing the boundary or entering the gates will find themselves politely but forcefully turned away with a sudden desire to go do something else pressing in their lives (often something inexplicably kind) For some likewise inexplicable reason, this repelling charm seems to have failed to work on one very old lady who lives in the reading room most of the time, has a room in the facility and thinks that it is a care home (and is tended to by some of the denizens too guilty to turn her out). She is very polite to the “young men and women” who inhabit the institute and is too short sighted to note strange natural forms. Her name is Aggie.

The decor within the institute is grand and very old, a lot of mahogany and natural furnishings - which were never /actually/ trees so not cruel obviously the management assert. The building is larger inside than the outside and it seems to spawn strange branching staircases and corridors as required by its residents. The sun seems to almost always be shining in the large windows looking over the gorgeous landscape (strange, given the location)

As far as facilities go, the heavenly institute has an enormous library which tends to have books which should probably not be on earth but are anyway and seems to have some books which slip in and out of time, predicting future events or unrecorded past ones.

There are computers but most of them seem to still be running windows 95 and the wifi access is frankly abominable. It is almost always better to use the books, writing a query in a libram can on occasion return an answer with the accuracy of a google search. With less porn and piracy.

The dining room is a large Hogwarts style affair with trestle tables and pews. The food is clean, fresh, and vegetarian, with a definite aversion to sugar and over-indulgence, likely at the request of the more temperance-leaning angels.

▐▐ NEPHILIM INSTITUTE>>

The Nephilim’s Institute is summed up in one word. Frugal. Based in a run down area in Florida the building is a large but run down repurposed mall, complete with its own enormous car park. The rooms offered to the inhabitants range from small converted retail areas divided into dorms or optionally are communal bunk areas. Everything they do costs money and money has to be generated from somewhere, without the influence and long-standing established resources of Heaven or Hell. Nephilim have not been around for long and their needs are more urgent, their Institute reflects this.

The fountain at the entrance to the mall still works, which is frankly a miracle given the state of the other facilities.

Meals are served in the food court, where the facilities are made use of. The Nephilim, being most well versed in interactions with humans do manage to maintain several of the old mall franchises, staffing them themselves. This means that they do have the option to purchase some Chick-Fil-A, McDonalds, Subway or the like if the ration-grade standard meals are not quite to their liking.

In terms of facilities, they do have an ice rink which came with the mall and is maintained out of a hopeless sense of why the hell not.

Parking is free.

Singularly of all the Institutes, the Nephilim Mall Institute has its own cemetary, located where the garden center once was.

When it comes to missions however, The Nephilim Institute is highly organised and competent. Knowing the value of energy and money to their cause they dedicate a large area of the Mall solely to focus on missions, training areas exist to instruct in the gathering of SIN or LIFE, combat proficiency (in human forms) and a small library of entirely mission and mission report oriented documentation. Bounties are tracked with exact administrative clarity and fierce competition exists for the high paying dangerous missions and merc work which come in.