Dis (Dite) is the capital of Hell, the city of the lower circles, and an unavoidable stage of the descent: the road passes under its iron gate, through the city, and out across a river. On other planes it is called Dis, Diz or Dispater.
| Type | City |
| Size | Perhaps 100 miles (1,600 blocks); the size of Buenos Aires |
| Spanish entry | Dite |
Description
“It is not a normal city. It is a city drawn by furniture.” Flat, mostly red and blue, from afar it seems to “vibrate with redness”. Its walls of triple adamantine cannot be breached even by gods. The ground is rubber and the air smells of latex. Dragonoids, gargoyles and probably avilláis fly over it; a muffled scream sounds behind closed doors. Anyone turning back must leave the city and cross the river.
Entrances: the main gate, the puerta gate iron, of iron and thirty meters high, closing by itself behind visitors; and a river service port, entered “but with dignity”.
Districts and life
Wards are identified by standards: a dog holding a torch, a key, a library, and a hidden one that is the forge. Visitors choose where to stay by standard, without a tour.
Dis is “a place of fortune and casino” where one gambles with destiny, and the city that “must rise and have gates to times and spaces”. It runs on “bureaucracy and seats and keys and salamanders and hierarchies”. Paintings of past events are sold in the streets; the library’s books are metal with driven wedges, its staff often blind or malformed; forbidden fruits fall into the taverns. An iron-walled castle was raised in three days. Arena crowds watch from neighboring towers to harp music, and the streets empty during shows.
Garrison
Roman legions with catapults and cannon-like things patrol it; it can launch an invasion or withstand a siege.
Protocol
People look at visitors but not in the eye, and bothering them is punished. Newcomers are “the queen’s guests”. Among inhabitants, “all the devils help the others to rise”. The lady watches from her tower and gives gifts to those who win her favor or her guard’s.
Time and exit
Time flows differently by proximity to the cathedral: the closer, the less temporal acceleration. Across the river a small boat and a ship wait.
Conflicting accounts
- “Four great main areas”, or “the three districts offered to us”.
- Whether the main gate is described (iron gate) or named Gateirón.
Open questions
- Whether the lady of Dis and the queen are one figure; an ancient name for her is noted as probable, unconfirmed.
- What is wagered in the casino.
- What the cathedral is and why it slows time.
- Where the boat goes; who screams behind the doors.