The ground is loose and made of sand. Thunder sounds from all
around, rolling away through the dark clouds overhead. Lightening
crashes down from above, illuminating the barren land. A lone man
stands where the lightening had licked the ground but mere seconds
before. He was tall and shrouded in black. Long golden hair
rolled over his shoulders and down his back to tickle the top of a set
of giant wings. The wings were tattered; the scorched bottoms
dragged the ground, leaving blood and feathers behind as he
walked. Here stood the fallen angel Lucifer, his former glory
clinging desperately to his shadow.
"Welcome to the beginning of your tour through
Hell. I hope my entrance didn't frighten you. Right now we
are standing in the barren wasteland that I have created inside of your
mind. It is here, in your mind, where we will go on the tour.
Don't worry, there will be no harmful side effects and the outside
world thinks that you are merely sleeping. This is the only way for a
living person to go through Hell without losing their soul. Now
then, we are about to begin the descent into Hell. Everything you
see, hear, feel- it's all real. This is Hell as it truly
exists. Take in as much as you can. Off we go."
The world turns black. There is howling far
off in the distance accompanying a small pin-prick of white
light. As the light draws closer it begins to dull and turn
gray. It suddenly flares and encompasses all.
The light faded to reveal what looked like a crowded
street. There were men, women, and children stumbling
around. Everybody was so vastly different: some tall, some short,
some from ancient Greece, and some from modern America, but everyone
had the same look of deep sadness and regret. There were some
people howling in misery while others sat on the ground weeping
silently to themselves.
"Look at these people. See how they
suffer and know that their suffering has nothing to do with me.
Strange isn't it that the suffering in the First Circle is not of my
hand. Their suffering comes from the knowledge that the only
thing they did wrong was not being baptized. That was it, that
was all they did, or well, didn't do. Some of the greatest minds
dwell here in Limbo: Homer, Horace, and Ovid. Virgil also resides
here. He was the poet who led Dante through Hell. Ah, look,
there he is. Why don't we go over there and talk to him?"
Standing alone by himself was a lone man advanced in
age. He stood at the edge of Limbo looking down into the abyss of
Hell. Looking up, he stared solemnly at Lucifer. "Ah, and so the
Father of Lies approaches. A tour?"
"Yes, a tour. Inspired by Dante's poem of you
leading him through Hell on his own tour. I thought it might set
the mood of things if you were to be the first person we talked
to. What do you say, will you tell us a story?"
"A story? Yes, a story, I know the perfect
one. I will tell you the story of when the great one, Jesus, came
down to our miserable home. He came down here in all his
glory. He came to see us who had sinned by not being
baptized. It was a day many of us will never forget for it was
the day that souls actually left Hell. They were blessed right in
front of us. Then they rose with him out of this place of pain
and sorrow. With him he took our first father Adam, his son Abel,
he took Noah and Moses, Abraham, King David, Jacob and Issac, his
children, and his wife Rachel. Others of lesser note were also
blessed that day. For the first time, hope filled the eyes of the
miserable souls who resided here. Never before had anyone left
Hell, never before had anyone been saved from the agony of this
place. We, who were left here, wait for him to return to save us
from our own ignorance. I fear that day may never come, but still
I wait with an ounce of hope in my weary heart. When you leave,
take with you the memory of our pain."
Virgil turned away, deep mourning in his eyes.
His head was downcast and it was clear that he would talk no
more. Lucifer walked towards the edge of the First Circle and
looked down. "That is the story of this circle. Let us move
along. We have so much more in store for you to see and learn."
Once again blackness encompasses all.
Author's Note: Hello all and thank you for reading
my first story. This is the story of Limbo, the first stop on the
tour through hell. In Dante's poem he really doesn't explain too
much of what Limbo looks like so I took some liberties in describing
it. Not many but a few. I mostly took liberties in that the
souls who resided there were able to look over the edge and stare down
at the other circles of Hell.
In my story I added a small secondary introduction
at the beginning. This was to give you more of a visual
experience and greater insight into my stories. I plan to do a
small introduction for all of my stories so I would appreciate some
feedback on what you think of them and if they help you to feel more a
part of the story.
Lastly, I had originally intended for this to be
humorous but it just didn't happen. I wanted the journey to have
a more light-hearted feel to it. As I was writing I began to
realize that, at least with this particular circle, something humorous
was not going to happen. I simply could find no way to make it
humorous. Perhaps I will be able to find a way to make the next
circle a bit humorous.
Original Text Link: Inferno Canto IV:1-63 The First Circle: Limbo:The
Heathens
Bibliography: Dante Alghieri
the Inferno, early 14th century.
wikipedia, search: the Inferno
Back to Introduction
Back
to
Coverpage
Forward to Second Circle
Image Info: The First Circle of Hell Web Source: WineIndustryInsight
