Black Gates

The Black Gates form the immutable plane of death, and the home realm of Hemlocke.

Description
The Black Gates vary widely in appearance and nature, but are generally muted: colours are dimmer and less saturated, and light can't penetrate as far as it should. The air is always chill, but not cold, and the air feels stagnant and old. The musty smell of crypts permeates the plane, though it is not overwhelming.

It is composed of an unknown number of sub-realms, each one sealed with an eponymous jet-black gateway. These gates only open to allow the dead to pass through, after they are greeted and processed by the psychopomps, or on rare occasions, Hemlocke herself. Once they have been shut, they cannot be opened again from the inside.

In the material plane, the Black Gates were anchored to the Plexus by the Lockean Moon, one of three in the figure-eight orbit around Noctis and Equis. The moon has been destroyed, however, rendering High Death magic inert in the material plane and preventing physical transport between those planes.

Inhabitants
Naturally, the main inhabitants of the Black Gates are the souls of the dead, squared away in the different sub-realms. The dead are virtually innumerable here.
 * Psychopomps:  The "natives" of the Black Gates - that is, creatures inherent to the plane - are the psychopomps. These creatures are the embodiment of death's various aspects, and nearly all are direct servants to Hemlocke, the goddess of death herself.

Realms
A great number of realms exist, though they are hard to quantify given the elusive nature of the plane of death. These realms are blocked by black gates, opened by the psychopomps to allow the dead to pass through into their respective afterlives.

Some known black gates include:
 * The Quiet Hills:  much like an enormous halfling village, though the homes are strangely unwelcoming, devoid of the usual warmth, good food and friends common to halfling homes. Radomir Vlasak's soul is believed to rest here.
 * Death's Hunting Grounds: it is said that two types of souls are sent here. The first are some of the greatest killers life has to offer. The second are creatures that the psychopomps can't or won't deal with, but want eradicated. Death's Hunting Grounds is therefore an endless cycle of souls hunting each other, and one of the few realms where the souls can actually be destroyed. Gaius Kvath's soul rests here.
 * Hemlocke's Workshop: a vast factory where goods are produced by countless souls for Hemlocke, her psychopomps, and other unknown recipients. Cid Maxwell's soul rests here.
 * The Rotting Table: a meeting hall of incalculable size, containing the eponymous table at which sits some of history's greatest strategists, surveying an endless stream of maps and offering commentary. Benedicton Carolus' soul rests here.
 * The Dead Snow: a seemingly endless expanse of flat, grey snow. There is a perpetual blizzard here, and countless Winter Mages wandering the wastes. Xenovitus' soul wanders here eternally.
 * The Dim Crystals: a field of tall crystalline structures that glow with dying light. This is the final resting place of the Qashra.

Additionally, the psychopomps warding the gates can occasionally send a soul elsewhere if it is necessary, such as when Lantis was shown Chaos as his afterlife.