The Void
The Void is a parallel plane of existence within The GoTverse or, more accurately, it is the absence of a plane. Substance without form, the primordial chaos from which all springs. It is perhaps best described as the space between realities; both the realities that are, and realities that have been, may be or never were. Many ancient religions and systems of mysticism have known something of the Void. It has been called the "darkness on the face of the deep," "the primordial waters," the "Qliphoth," and by many other names.History in the Making - Tome War 1 - Sunny’s Journal
I can hear something calling. Reaching out for me. I dream of a sea of black with pathways long hidden from prying greedy lying eyes. Of power that could be twisted and used any way that a person can think of. I also seemed to have gained tentacles made of shadow. The hell?Tome War 1 - Post Final Battle
We won. Well, House Mollusca won with the help of the last of the houses that fell. I can say one thing: Zombies suck and I do not like the urge that I had to take a huge bite out of one that came near Lady Sable, the Leader of House Lapin. I don’t bite. I barely stand the fish that we eat around here. The dreams still continue. I dream of the black but now I walk the paths and see the layers. What is happening?Tourney of Tales - Round 1
That was interesting. I gained more tentacles made of shadow. And I’ve dreamt of the inky blackness with pathways made of Thoughts and Possibilities. But this time I saw stars. Twinkling somewhere in the distance, dancing in eyes that stare back at me. Stars that shifted and danced, never once staying. I think one of my tentacles has stars on them too. This is really weird. Maybe…maybe someone knows what this is? Am I going insane? What is this tug that I feel? How do I get to this inky blackness? Why am I so very drawn to it?
Origin of The Void
The Void has always Been and will always Be. Once in the far past, it was a Nothingness that was all around. Intangible and Unknowing. Before the first Tome War happened, It hadn’t known that It was. It hadn’t known that It was Everything and Nothing, With and Without a Form. It hadn’t heard the cries of those who were a part of it, close to their very Souls and Hearts. It hadn’t felt the Pain that was radiating through the world and was changing with the tides of time. Then, something had changed. In their desperate attempt to save the world at large from the Undead Horde, the Knights had done something with the Tome and suddenly… The Void Knew. It knew the cries of Its people. It could feel the echoing loneliness that curled deep in souls and hearts. It reached out for those It could feel, looking for those who needed Its safety and found one that walked the ocean floor with the hair the color of a mouse and eyes that didn’t see fully from her time so far under the ocean’s depths and thus started to court her. It showed her the paths of Its very being, Whispered the secrets of the world, showed what It could offer to her. It found others, those who cried out for safety, to be cared for. The Prince who was hurt and twisted by those who wanted power. The Fiery One who had been raised like an animal. The Orphaned One who just wanted the family that had been stolen from them. The Strong, Hurt Queen who wanted to do nothing more than to protect her family and friends. But still, the first who had felt Its call and walked the paths became close to It; became the Rabbit of the Void and found herself drawn ever more to The Warren. She took with her the secrets of the Void that she could barely remember and memories that were buried deep in her mind. The Void knew that she would gather those who would work best to help find Its balance when it was time. The Void just had to wait and watch.Geography
Most of the Void appears as an empty blackness so dark that it eats light, something like a black hole. To the Voidtouched , however, greyish "paths" appear in the landscape that appear to be comprised of faint starlight. The ones who can see them most clearly perceive them in shades of grey.
There are several paths through the Void. These paths are a mix of Paths of Possibilities; the Path of Truth, the Path of Lies, the Path of Future, the Path of Past, the Path of Present and the Path of Options. Each path tends to have one or two layers to it.
The oldest of the Walkers, Sunny, has the most experience in walking the paths and has found that the Paths of Possibilities, Lies, Future and Truth all have multiple layers to them. Some of the layers connect to one timeline while others seem to connect to new timelines that were created at crucial decision points in the lines.
One such path is the path that they would have taken if they had not acted so desperately to save their world and she shudders at having seen that timeline.
There are several timelines that have seemingly suddenly stopped connected to the main one. It is suggested that you do not look at those timelines due to the fact that it is unknown if you would bring something back from that timeline.
The Void can be thought of as having multiple layers. Each layer has its own specific laws and rules.
Sunny refers to the primary layer of the Void as "The Labyrinth," and it seems to represent the "largest" portion -- if such a descriptor as "size" can be applied to a plane that exists outside of Time and Space as we understand them.
Other layers include The Shallows and The Netherlayers and will be dealt with in other articles (see below).
The Labyrinth by Placidplace
Ecosystem
The Void is sentient. If it keeps shifting you away from a path, take a hint and stay away from the path. If it pushes you towards a path, go for that path. The Void knows more then it lets on, but due to the limitations of it being able to communicate with its children, even more so with those who are outside of the Void, it is hard for It to send out Its warnings.
Otherwise, the Void lacks a natural "ecosystem," given that it is primordial chaos. It is important to note, however, that creatures and things from reality that we are familiar with become... altered... by contact with the Void.
Localized Phenomena
Walking the Paths takes energy from the one walking. They have some kind of source of power, be it from their personal literomancy or from the worlds that they have created in their minds, souls and hearts. The Walkers tend to have at least 2 to 3 genres they write in, but the more genres they write in, the longer they can walk the paths and just explore.
You see, the secret of the Void is that all the chaos and laughter is actually born of pain.No one can tell who will become Voidtouched and who will simply be devoured or driven mad by their exposure to the Void, but one thing they all tend to have in common is a link through suffering and trauma. All known "Voiders" as they call themselves, have been exposed to trauma connected to the Void, and often at a young age. Perhaps it is necessary for the mind to still be somewhat pliable in order to tolerate and thrive in the mindbending weirdness of the Endless Dark.
Fauna & Flora
- Voidnip - A lot of catnip has been stored (and forgotten) in the Shallows over the years from House Felis. Over time, it has sunk further into the deeper layers of the Void, and... changed. It is perhaps now somewhat equivalent to the most psychedelic strains of cannabis, and has become naturalized. The stems grow in the forms of shadowy tentacles, and it buds with odd, purplish flowers.
- Demons - Some entities and spirits remain from previous worlds that have since been destroyed, or from realities from which they have been banished. These are the creatures that are commonly understood by others to be "demons." They may take some of the forms familiar to those who study demonic lore, or something else entirely that is barely comprehensible to a physical, sentient mind. Often they bear malice and resentment towards the favoured creatures who are native to the current physical reality -- but not necessarily. They are usually, however, alien and strange.
- Chthonic Entities - Contrary to popular belief, not every entity in the Void is a demon. Some are simply Underworld creatures, often associated with death and the Otherworld. Known as Chthonic Entities, or simply the "Chthonic," they often take forms that are similar to forms from a more familiar physical reality... although always with some alien difference. They often serve the role of psychopomps.
- Void Nuggies - A moldy chicken nugget that was lost in the Void gained animation, then sentience, and then it budded. The nuggies now realize that they are essentially trapped in this space between realities, and they long to break into a physical reality for themselves, perhaps wanting to reunify with the physical reality they lost. The Voiders generally think this would be a bad idea. Sable Aradia thinks it likely that if they succeeded, reality might simply collapse. There have been armed conflicts over this issue.
- Void Polypore - A strange fungus that superficially resembles a mushroom, the Void Polypore feeds on Void residue and is occasionally found growing in the Void -- or on the bodies of the Voidtouched.
This article is a work in progress, and may be subject to changes.
This article is part of a series related to streaming the Game of Tomes. For more information, see Streaming Game of Tomes.
Voidsight by Daniel Hannah
First view of the Void by Geralt
Princess Sunny the Void Bunny by HeroForge
Alternative Name(s)
The Nothing, the Endless Vast, the Endless Night
Type
Plane of Existence
Included Locations
Included Organizations
Owning Organization
Characters in Location
Inhabiting Species
Related Materials
Voidtouched
The longer you linger in the Void, or the more you walk the Paths, the more touched you are by the Void. In general, the Void is a black space with the paths sprinkled with starlight to show you where to step. The longer you walk or linger, the more the starlight brushes off onto your skin. Into your eyes. On your hair. Those who have stayed for too long within the Void are said to be beautiful and untouchable, their skin or fur or scales becoming a pure black with starlight sparkling, their eyes glowing red and able to see things that they know they can not speak of. Sunny's shifted form, that of a rabbit, was the first known one that was Touched as such. A Being of the Void has several abilities. These abilities can't always be used, and never on the turn of a dime due to the limitations of communications.- Sight of Possibility. Like the Path of Possibility, the user is able to see many options for the timeline. They are more 'if this happens, this will happen' kind of scenes and can create migraines or headaches if stared at for too long. Due to this, most users with this ability will learn to scan and let the threads go before the pain sets in and make choices from there. This is the ability that is referred to by House Lapin as "Fiver's Insight."
- Many Thoughts. Those who are able to have many thoughts have learned and trained to recognize the ones from the Void and ones that come from their own thought process. They have worked hard to master this ability and tend to carry around little notebooks for their thoughts when there are too many in their own heads.
- The Knowledge of Truth. This ability is probably the hardest to learn and master due to the very nature of Truth. Truth is a flowing, shy thing and thus is hard to pin down. There are some truths that are easily known, while other truths are unknown and do not fit what the oracle may consider Truth, thus making it hard to learn the ability. The most proficient users of this ability have found that when they Speak of Truth, they can sound heartless or monotone. They have learned to just say that they are only Speaking the Truth of the situation. Furthermore, even if they know it, they can not just tell someone about it. They must be asked. This ability is sometimes known as "The Bard's Tongue."
The Voiders
Sable by Tempest Kwake
Sunny by Tempest Kwake
Tempest by Tempest Kwake
Gala by Tempest Kwake
Mykola by Tempest Kwake
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