Feb 25, 2020 by Fabrice Wilfong
The surface of Hell is mostly composed of skin (approx. 70%) the common name for this is skin-land. The skin-land is generally stiff, but it does flex and is pliable to the touch. When you walk on the skin-land, your foot will sink to about one quarter of an inch to as much as six inches into the flexing surface depending on the specific construction of an area. Although this may not seem to be a significant detail, when running in Hell (and there are many times when one runs in Hell) you will become tired quickly, much like if you were to run in loose sand. There may be occasions where the skin in a certain area is taught enough to provide a reactive bounce to your gait, which can make running easier. But conversely, there are also areas that are more friable, and you may puncture the skin-land sinking into the next layer, which is most often liquid fat, raw blood, or a tangle of capillaries. Breaking through the surface of Hell while running is NOT RECCOMENDED, as you will trip and most likely sink.
By all means try to move softly and steadily. Do not sacrifice staying on the surface for speed. (This is not to say that breaking the surface of the skin-land on purpose isn’t beneficial. There are many resources critical to your survival under the skin-land. This is discussed in the chapter – Resources in Hell.) The point concerning the dangers of running along the surface of the skin-land cannot be overemphasized as it is both one of the most treacherous environmental obstacles in Hell, and the one that most people seem to underestimate.
The surface of Hell will have the same semi-permanent rises and falls across its landscape that you are familiar with on Earth. Gradient structures much like hills will climb several stories high, and depressions much like ravines will sink several stories deep. The main difference is the constant shifting form of the skin-land. This is due to the churning mantel and core of Hell that is in a perpetual state of dissolving the absorbed bodies that have been consumed. This dissolving (or digestion) of bodies separates and combines the various structures within people and forms many geographical phenomena within Hell. Examples of such are: Blood Rivers, Fat Boils, and Acid Plumes. All of which will be explained in detail.
Lastly, a side effect of this constantly changing internal structure of Hell is that occasionally the surface will move. This may be as slight as a tremble, or as massive as a shift in the entire composition of many miles of skin-land.
—From “Hell Geographica” By Doctorem Delta-Lindicus