User:GoldenYak/The Deep Void



The Deep Void is a dimension that comprises the furthest reaches of all existence.

Nature
Like the Twisting Nether or the Material Plane, the Deep Void is a fundamental element of existence. Unlike artificial planes such as the Emerald Dream or the Elemental Plane, it was not created by the titans or as a result of another races' powerful magic.

The Deep Void is an ancient and utterly barren plane, devoid of life, sentience, or any being whatsoever. It is the most remote realm of existence, the empty foundation of all time and space, all parallel dimensions and universes, from the universe as we know it, to the Twisting Nether, to the distant and unknowable realm of the Old Gods. It lies nearest to the Realm of Shadows, and those who stray too far into the shadow realm risk losing themselves there and falling unwittingly into the Deep Void.

The Rule of the Old Gods
The titans once explored the fathomless expanse of the Deep Void, and even those mighty beings felt their souls shrink in the face of such all-encompassing nothingness. Finding not even the slightest trace of firmament upon which to craft their order, the titans withdrew from the Deep Void, turning their attentions to the higher dimensions of light, magic, life and matter. But the titans were not the only beings to know of the Deep Void. Their chaotic counterparts, the Old Gods, also knew of that endless dark expanse.

Long before the titans set foot on Azeroth, the Old Gods had waged their twisted games of death and destruction for millions of years. The five who ruled there had attained a twisted balance, each one unable to gain an advantage over his fellows. But before there were five, there had once been six.

Called out of their realm by ancient mortals, the first of the Old Gods had slithered through the cracks in reality to nest in Azeroth. C'Thun, the defiler of time. The moulder of flesh, foul Y'Uurd. Yogg-Saron, the all-devouring. The many who are one, Y'Shaarj of the sevenfold terrors. And she who must not be named, she who must forever remain Unspoken.

These five spilled across Azeroth like a tide of foulness, weaving horror in their wake. After devouring any of the ancient peoples who might have stood against them, they turned upon one another, as was their nature. In time one among the five arose that sought to change their situation. She called out to her brethren in their home realm, and brought forth a sixth God.

The Binding of the Unspoken
N'Zoth, the endless nightmare, slithered into the world through the cracks in reality. N'Zoth the schemer, N'Zoth the weaver of stratagems that unmake all foes. At first N'Zoth and the Unspoken pooled their resources in a devastating war against the other gods, but in time N'Zoth embraced his own chaotic nature and turned against his sister, betraying her and devouring much of her power. Weakened and vulnerable, she fell to her rivals, and together they cast her into the Deep Void, sending her crashing down through all of reality to fall into that eternal, endless expanse. Cut off from the living universe, the Unspoken fell into a torpedinous slumber. From her dreams N'Zoth plucked forth nightmares, dark pearls of horror that became his weapons and tools - the Emerald Nightmare, the Realm of Twilight, and other vile creations besides, all born from the restless slumber of the Unspoken.

While N'Zoth cast down the Unspoken, the other Old Gods placed a great seal over the Deep Void to bind the Unspoken forever, its potency linked to their will and power. It might have remained undisturbed forever, but when the titans came to cast the Old Gods down from their rule, Y'Uurd shattered his portion of the seal, believing that the Unspoken should be called forth to battle the titans. Aghast, the Old Gods brief alliance dissolved into civil war, even as the legions of the titans stormed across Azeroth and brought low their black empires one by one. Y'Shaarj was struck down by the titans, and the power of his binding failed, leaving only two unbroken. Ultimately, the binding over the Deep Void held, with the other Old Gods imprisoned by the titans. But within the Deep Void, the Unspoken began to stir.

The Deep Void and the Aqir
An eternity passed. The aqir race was brought low, their ancient empire shattered, and their populace fled across Azeroth through mystical Worldgates, magical constructs that bent time and dimensions to allow rapid travel across worlds. The aqir sent out four great legions through their Worldgates to build new empires - to the north, south, east, and west. The northern legion founded Azjol-Nerub. The western aqir built Ahn'Qiraj. Those who went south founded the kingdoms of the mantid. But as their empire collapsed and their magic failed, the Worldgate carrying the fourth legion east malfunctioned, and the legion was lost. Lost, but not destroyed.

The aqir legion fell through the dimensions, and spilled into the Deep Void. Their bodies soon dissolved from the ravages of absolute nothingness, and their spirits fared little better. The strongest of them, clinging to the last scraps of their existence, drifted through the Deep Void, until at last what was left of them brushed against the slumbering essence of the Unspoken. They gathered around her dream-self, stirring it to waking with the foul light of their diseased souls. And the Unspoken heard them whisper her name, the lost name, the forbidden name - and she awoke.

The Sundering and the Arach'layn
Thousands of years later, the world was devastated by the Sundering, and the ancient night elf civilization collapsed. The night elves of Northrend fled into the darkness of the underground to avoid destruction, but fell prey to the nerubians who had made the underworld their kingdom. To hide, the night elves pushed their shadow-melding abilities to their limit, eventually learning to hide within the Realm of Shadows to avoid the marauding of the nerubians.

But the night elves only traded one dire fate for another. Deep beneath the surface of the world, close to the prison of the Old Gods, the night elves become trapped with the Realm of Shadows, unable to leave. Imprisoned on the very border of the Deep Void, they fell prey to the growing power of the Unspoken, and they became her twisted servants. When the Cataclysm devastated Azeroth a second time, the power of the Old Gods surged. Though still unable escape the Deep Void, the Unspoken and her aqir were able to send their night elves pawns, now transformed into the arach'layn, back into Azeroth to carry out their plans.

The Purpose of the Newbreed
The arach'layn sought out others who served the dark will of the aqir and the Unspoken. In Azjol-Nerub they met with Valthraxx, an ancient aqir lord who had survived the downfall of his kingdom, as well as the newly spawned nerubian queen, Nezar'Kali. Together these two beings birthed a new generation of nerubians - the Newbreed, more powerful than their earlier kin, fueled by the ancient blood of the aqir. The agents of the Unspoken intended for the Newbreed to be vessels, empty shells that the aqir trapped within the Deep Void would pour themselves into, that they might walk Azeroth once again.

The plan proceeds. With the aid of the Twilight Cult and their leader Xarosan, more and more aqir are being called up out of the Deep Void and taking new bodies for themselves. These newly fleshed aqir are paving the way for their god's return to the world, carrying out a plan that will shatter the binding on the Deep Void, releasing the Unspoken and her aqir legions to erupt back into the world and devour Azeroth.

The Binding of the Unspoken
As N'Zoth cast the Unspoken into the Deep Void, the other four Old Gods placed a seal upon it to prevent her from escaping. As long as the Old Gods endure, so does the binding. As they fall into what passes for death amongst their kind, the binding weakens.


 * C'Thun is reduced - The binding yet holds.
 * Yogg-Saron is reduced - The binding yet holds.
 * Y'Shaarj is undone - The binding is broken.
 * Y'Uurd endures - The binding is broken.

Only half the bindings still hold, and the Unspoken strains against them. Should they fall, the Unspoken will spill back into the world and plunge all things into silence.

Inhabitants

 * The Unspoken
 * The Lost Aqir