Eighth Splinter: Nychtothálassa

Nychtothálassa is not just another realm of the Dark Dimension - it represents true tenebrosity and the fear of the dark. It is distinctive among realms of the Dark Dimension in that it can be reached through the mind of a dreamer whose terror is strong enough to thin the veil between nightmare and reality.

Visual Interest Board

         

Properties & Geographical Features

No stars illuminate Nychtothálassa’s mockery of a sky, only two black holes locked in a stable orbit. In the center of the Shadowsea is The Gaping Maw, an impossibly huge and hungry maelstrom. Gargantuan obsidian spikes pierce its walls like teeth, providing brackish ‘islands’ of safety for the unfortunate souls trapped here. There is just enough light in Nychtothálassa to cut deep shadows over the Shadowsea’s dark waves. The air is always humid and hot. Water from the River Styx drains into this layer, where all water is ink-like, viscous, and slow-moving. Reflections in Nythothálassa’s waters never match the viewer, instead showing darker versions or flickers of what hunts them. Strange as it is to consider a river running through an ocean, the Styx maintains its integrity as it winds through the Shadowsea.

The darkness distorts the senses. A minute alone might feel like a week - or it might actually be one. One could easily believe that a thinking, watching presence hides in every shadow. Every footstep echoes with something else's breath behind it. On the Shadowsea, monsters can feel much closer and allies, much farther. Sound is dampened here, carrying the unsettling weight of a silence on the hunt.

Nychtothálassa does not connect to any splinter of the Dark Dimension occupied by Devilkind.

   

Notable Inhabitants

Demogorgon

Epithets

The Sibilant Beast, Prince of Demons, The Deep Father, Master of the Spiraling Depths, Lord of All that Swims in Darkness

Stat Block

As Demogorgon (MPMM p. 90),
with the following change:  

The self-proclaimed Prince of all Demons. In both physical and magical terms, there are few on any plane that could challenge Demogorgon and live. Yet despite their unfettered might, their dual heads are dual personas. Aameul and Hethradiah cooperate in some ways and compete in others. The result is an entity that is capable of devising and enacting the most clever strategies, paranoid at all times about the threats to their rule. Demogorgon prefers to meet challenges with overwhelming force and to ferret out enemies before they can marshal the strength to make a serious stand against him. They see every living creature as a potential threat - and only those who utterly debase themselves before them have a chance of escaping total annihilation.

Gazing upon Demogorgon can transfix lesser demons and instantly compel them to do their bidding. In Evara, simply laying eyes on a true copy of Demogorgon’s symbol (either crafted by Demogrogon or by one of their most powerful followers) is enough to create a mortal agent. These unfortunate victims are forever shackled to a life in the shadows and serving their dark master.

Although they have the power to command all other creatures, Demogorgon seeks to empty the omniverse of all other creatures. Freed from any prospect of being betrayed or surprised, the ocean of darkness around them will finally feel like a comfort rather than a danger. They could finally rest in a perfectly peaceful cosmos. According to one hypothesis, if Demogorgon were ever to realize this goal, Aameul and Hethradiah would fight to the death and leave behind nothing but a void.

Demogorgon’s physical aspect towers 18  feet (5.5 meters) tall, their body simultaneously sinuous like a snake and powerful like a great ape. Instead of arms, two long tentacles writhe from their shoulders. Their lower torso is scaly and saurian, and they have an immense forked tail. Two baleful baboon heads leer down at the souls unfortunate enough to be in their midst.

 

Sul Khatesh

Epithets

Keeper of Whispers, Queen of Shadows, Danger in the Darkness

Stat Block

As Sul Khatesh (ERLW p 304),
with the following change:  

If it seems like the oppressive darkness of Nychtothálassa is aware, that is because it is. Sul Khatesh’s place of power is everywhere. She lurks in the darkness, a blight of pure fear and shadow.

Sul Khatesh embodies the fears and superstitions surrounding magic, from malevolent warlocks to mad wizards, from deadly curses to magical power that draws those who wield it deeper into darkness. She empowers warlocks and whispers secrets into the minds of wizards and artificers, helping them master spells and create relics they could never shape on their own. But few of those inspired by Sul Khatesh understand what forces they are dealing with, or recognize the danger inherent in her gifts. Covens devoted to the Queen of Shadows use dark magic and fear to dominate whole communities, while isolated warlocks make pacts with Sul Khatesh to pursue power and revenge. By sharing her power in this way, she perpetuates the image of the evil warlock, inciting fear that strengthens the Keeper of Secrets even more. She desires to shroud all minds in shadow, keeping all secrets for herself.

An entity of shadow, Sul Khatesh can assume any form. Her favored shape is a twelve-foot-tall humanoid figure draped in a flowing, hooded robe formed of swirling mist and clinging darkness. She answers to one, serving only the fear of the dark itself. Unlike most other fiends, she cannot manifest directly in Evara even if summoned. She will be unable to do so as long as the darkness there remains under Nalani’s watchful gaze.

   

Places of Interest

Abysm Fortress

On the edge of the Sygian Eye, twin serpentine towers rise from the inky depths of the maelstrom. Its spiraling towers are tipped with minarets that resemble horrific fanged skulls. The palace rises a few hundred feet above the roiling sea, but its extent plunges impossibly deep into the dark waters. This fearsome fortress serves as Demogorgon’s seat of power. Here, the Prince of Demons labors to unlock secrets ancient even by his reckoning.

The Indigo Wash

Where the River Styx pours into Nychtothálassa, it creates a powerful tidal current that drags any creatures caught in it out toward the Stygian Eye. The Depths of Nychtothálassa are linked to every other ocean and sea occupied by the chaos of demons, including the Sussersea. The indigo wash is a comparatively shallow watercourse, carving deep canyons and steep gorges in what little land breaks the surface of the dark sea. At the mouth of the Wash, twin demonic cities of Lemoriax and Moriaxle occupy each bank. Teeming with demonic sycophants, these cities contain civilization only in the loosest sense of the word. Constant tidal erosion from the Wash has eaten away at the cities’ foundations but does not dampen the adulation of the cities’ inhabitants.

The Stygian Eye

This colossal swirling maelstrom endlessly drains the Shadowsea into the roiling void. Becoming caught in its inexorable churnings is not a death sentence, but many choose death over an eternity of being trapped in the sentient darkness.

The Stycks

Sailing through the dark skies are creatures of impossible proportions and anatomy, large and tameable enough that some civilizations have been established on their backs. In times of extreme turmoil, Demogorgon calls upon these shadowy creatures to bear his soldiers and their cities into battle.