The Void

The Devouring Darkness - The Void Core Alignment: Destructive Evil Domains:Any   The Void, despite the best attempts of Gods and men, has been present since before time and consciousness. No matter how many times its vessels have been broken, it seems like the Void’s core being is still far beyond reach. When Kalio came into being, the two existed in silence. Kalio observed the darkness, and it stared back at her for untold ages. This was how their shared existence passed for eons, until Kalio noticed life across her being, and her gaze shifted away from the darkness. It never returned. The Void seethed and in its anger at being tossed aside, it began to plot and scheme to return Kalio’s gaze to it. As Kalio had nurtured and brought forth life, the Void formed aberrations and horrors of pure hatred. Creatures that represented and mirrored its own dark and base nature. They corrupted all they touched, and began to make violent war against the mortals that wandered Kalio’s paths, seeking to end them permanently. This first War created Horror after Horror, to strike against the Mortals, but for the most part, Man continued to rebuff the darkness every day. The Void’s rage only grew further, until the day it found something in the souls of Mortals it so despised. Each mortal shined with motes of life, bright like starlight across Kalio’s skin. But underneath that beautiful light, therein laid a seed of darkness, existing as a core part of their being. This first mortal that caught the Void’s gaze began to hear the whispers of the Consumption. The Void began listening to the mortal’s most self destructive thoughts and ideas. In return, the Void always gave them sympathetic, seemingly understanding words, manipulating and nurturing that seed of darkness in hopes that it would take root and grow. It worked. That seed of darkness bloomed and consumed the light of the mortal, turning them into a Beacon of Darkness. That darkness quickly spread to others nearby, and that one mortal began to fertilize the darkness in others around them. Honeyed words promised a false comfort so desperately sought, turning mortals toward a fanatic zealotry for the Void and seeking the promise behind it. Soon the monstrosities born of the Void were joined by throngs of mortals who had become disillusioned with the words and actions of Kalio and her children, the gods. They thought themselves just and righteous in their actions. These mortals would commit the worst of crimes against their fellows in the name of the Void, and it seemed once the seed bloomed, it was nearly impossible to remove for the corrupted soul to return to normal. With the fanatics on its side, the War shifted in favor of the Void for a time. That is, until one of those enthralled, desperate mortals severed the yoke on their mind. It wasn’t an easy task; it took time, effort, and empathy. But after helping the first of the Lost find their way back from the edge, more and more began to return. In its greatest rage yet, the Void struck out at the first of the recovered Lost. The Gods shielded the mortal, but when the smoke cleared, it was clear the strike had been turned away from the mortal… but into the core of Kalio. The Wound smoked and festered, with the Void triumphant in delivering the final blow of the War. Kalio’s gaze returned to the Void in her last moments, and as her eyes closed for the final time, all she saw was Darkness. Satisfied, the Void left its aberrations and corrupted to finish the job, believing that Kalio’s death would end the Mortals as her body would fade to nothing, and joined the darkness. It was unaware as the gods scrambled to keep Kalio from fading, giving their hearts and allowing her Children to survive. It was a number of years before the Void’s gaze returned to Kalio. It heard a lonely voice calling for attention. Somehow the mortals of Kalio survived. The Void’s anger bubbled as the object of its obsession had perished, but was being kept… fresh. The vermin of mortality scoured its surface, and they thrived upon her corpse. It lacked the strength to endlessly pepper the world with more aberrations. However, the Void took a valuable lesson from the war; empower the darkness in Mortals and they will hurt themselves far more than any external threat ever could. So the practice of Void cults were born. These various cults have been responsible for so many horrible man-made catastrophes throughout history. Even if they weren’t the direct source of conflict, their seductive whispers have pushed advisors, kings, soldiers, merchants and anyone they can influence into darker and more destructive deeds. Most cults are secretive and hidden, but there is one who has put their name into the forefront of everyone’s minds, as the threat that could be lurking anywhere; Armasse. These cultists are also known as the Darkeners, who have repeatedly killed gods. They even once managed to force most of Kalio into the Void, removing her from existence until the gods of Kalio managed to force those lost regions to return with hidden magics.   Common Tenants of Void Cults   There is no inequality in the Darkness, nothing to be jealous of, and nothing to covet. Only the brutal honest truth. They do not understand you. How could they? They do not care for you. Why would they? Only in silence can you find peace from your torments. Strike hard at those who hold you in your prison. The final release will only come when they are gone.