The Babe of the Abyss

The ancient Amalorian gods were seen as fallible characters who had the capacity for both good and evil despite their immense power and wisdom. The story of the Babe of the Abyss tells of a meeting between a sickly prostitute and the God of Death in a dark alley in Ancient Amaloria.   Although she was dying, the God of Death was lustful and found her emaciated frame beautiful as death was his art. The God of Death, overcome by his basal desires made himself into the form of a man. He impregnated the woman knowing that she would soon be dead and the child would not be fertile. However, the demigod child, who inherited some of his father's mastery over life and death, did not die in the womb and was born healthy from his mother's corpse.   The Babe of the Abyss grew up as a living relic worshipped by the Cult of the God of Death. The Babe grew to be a powerful sorcerer and became associated with the Cult of Shadows, he taught the principles of his black magic to a small group of disciples who became his first acolytes.   In some retellings, the corruption of the gods by the Babe himself led to the fall of the Amalorian Empire. Around the time of the fall, the Amalorian Empire which was characterised by a number of raids, uprising and invasions, the Cult of Shadows and the Babe of the Abyss appear to have been destroyed and their remnants faded in the obscurity. In the present day, more than 1000 years since the disappearance of the cult, little evidence of its existence remains.   Many modern scholars consider the story of the shadow-masters of ancient Amaloria to be mythical, however the rediscovery of the Tomes of Black Magic may lend credence to at least some of its elements.