The Great Void

The Great Void is a colossal pit discovered by the Suicide Corps around the year 600 AG to the South-East of Amaref. The vertical hole has a diameter of around 1,000 meters and is at least 20,000 meters deep. It possesses a unique ecosystem, wherein lie the remnants of an ancient, yet advanced, civilization. Many have challenged the mysterious Void, pursuing countless hidden treasures and relics of immense value. Some are treasure hunters looking for artifacts, while others are explorers determined to unveil the secrets the Void hides. To explore the Void, valiant cave raiders called Delvers emerged, and the town of Orth was established at the edge of the Void.

The Void still contains many sections that have never been seen, and carries many dangers. Hazardous habitats that defy common sense and otherworldly creatures adapted to the unique environment are major obstacles to explorers.

All throughout the Void, there is a mysterious energy often referred to as the "force field". The force field acts as its main source of energy, carrying nutrients, producing light and sustaining life, in a similar fashion to the Sun. While it is present everywhere, it seems to be more prominent the closer one gets to the center. More savage and dangerous creatures are often found in areas where the force field is most prevalent, and the branches of vegetation always point towards the center of the hole, their main source of energy for undergoing photosynthesis. Delvers use this fact to guide themselves when they are lost. The force field itself is invisible to the naked eye, but it can be detected as a vague fog that limits the vision of humans. The field is also constantly moving, following the consciousness of living beings. There are a few specific spots in the Void, usually far away from the center and in secluded areas, where the force field doesn't exist or is extremely weak.

The great pit also appears to have some form of time distortion. This is evident by Suicide Corps having claimed to have arrived at the Void at a point in time before the first Delvers and a native tripe still existed, yet, according to residents of the Village of Ilblu in the 6th Layer, time has passed at a tenth of the time that it had actually passed on the surface. The deeper one delves, the more one's sense of time breaks, with the effect becoming extreme from the 5th layer onwards. For example, one might intend to stay on the 5th layer just a few weeks, but by the time they return to the surface, several months had passed.

## The Curse of the Void

Though the Void is riddled with countless dangers and hazards, one of the greatest challenges facing Delvers is, in fact, the ascent from it. This is due to a phenomenon called the **Curse of the Void**. The term refers to a series of symptoms that manifest upon ascending while inside the Void, with its more scientific name being the **"Strains of Ascension"**. The effects of the Curse manifest after ascending around 10 meters within the Void, and there is no way to avoid it through conventional means. The Curse affects all living things; however, the creatures that inhabit the Void have developed ways to sense its flow and avoid it.

The deeper one delves, the more severe the symptoms are, starting at dizziness and nausea and gradually rising to intense pain throughout the body, loss of senses and even death. This makes the return trip from the Void extremely difficult, and it is not uncommon for Delvers to perish on the way up. Particularly, the curse of the 6th layer ("loss of humanity or death") makes the return journey physically impossible for humanoids.

The Curse results from piercing the force field of the Void while ascending, although this fact is not generally known. Therefore, areas where the force field is weaker also result in the effects of the curse being less severe. In certain specific places, like the Village of Ilblu, the force field isn't present at all, and so the Curse doesn't occur either.

## The Blessing of the Void

An exceedingly rare and top secret phenomenon occasionally takes place within the Void under very specific circumstances. It was first discovered by the White Whistle Delver Bondrewd when he was experimenting with the Curse of the 6th layer. Much like with the Curse of the Void, the event occurs during the ascent, but two people are needed to trigger the phenomenon. If one person bears the entire burden of the Curse for both people (through the use of an Artifact or another similar instrument), the other is spared the effects of the curse.

The appearance of the blessed changes. They grow fur all over their body and some of their traits, like the eyes or fingers, become mutated. The Blessing is not merely in looks: The one gifted gains the ability to observe the force field of the Void, something that only the predators of the deep are able to see. It also to increase their physical fortitude to some extent.

## Void Faith

A religion that was formed around the Void itself, and it appears to be a very common belief among those that delve into the Void. Instead of believing in a God, those that turn to this religion deify the Void itself. Because the bottom is unknown, it replaces a deity and grants them hope for an afterlife. It is based on the principle that if one loses one's life within the Void, one's soul will descend to the bottom and live as a form of spirit of the Void. The unreachable depths of the pit makes people believe that it transcends life itself.

## Layers

### 1st Layer: Edge of the Void

* **Depth:** 0–1,350 meters.

* **Strains of Ascent:** Light dizziness and nausea.

* **Description:** The 1st layer is the most shallow section of the Void, right below the town of Orth. The environment is consistent and sunny, full of hollows in the grassy rockfaces and petrified trees. The wildlife consists of fantastical and mostly harmless animals.

### 2nd Layer: Forest of Temptation

* **Depth:** 1,350–2,600 meters.

* **Strains of Ascent:** Intense nausea, headaches, and numbness of limbs.

* **Description:** The Forest of Temptation is the first truly dangerous section of the Abyss. The fauna and environment suddenly change, turning into a tropical rainforest with huge vegetation. The creatures that inhabit this layer are much more dangerous. Deeper in, there is an area known as the "Inverted Forest," where the trees grow upside-down and the wind blows hard. Here an Observation Camp has been built to serve as a resting point for Delvers.

### 3rd Layer: The Great Fault

* **Depth:** 2,600–7,000 meters.

* **Strains of Ascent:** In addition to aforementioned effects, Vertigo combined with visual and auditory hallucinations.

* **Description:** The 3rd layer consists of a 4-km vertical cliff, making it a highly challenging area to cross, save for the large cave network around the main shaft. Countless methods have been implemented by many in order to attempt a descent, to varying effects. Aerial predators are common, including Crimson Splitjaws.

### 4th Layer: The Goblets of Giants

* **Depth:** 7,000–12,000 meters.

* **Strains of Ascent:** Intense pain throughout the body and bleeding from every orifice.

* **Description:** A strange, humid jungle of strong vines weaving to form giant concave discs that capture water from the air earn the 4th layer its name, the "Goblet of Giants." At 9,000 meters marks the famous Garden of the Flowers of Resilience, an area filled with Eternal Fortunes, the trademark flower of the Void. A truly beautiful sight; though the danger from the beasts that dwell here is high.

### 5th Layer: Sea of Corpses

* **Depth:** 12,000–13,000 meters.

* **Strains of Ascent:** Complete sensory deprivation, confusion and self-harming behavior.

* **Description:** The thinnest layer of the Void vertically, being only 1,000 meters deep, but the widest one horizontally, probably around 10 times wider than the town of Orth. It consists mostly of a large, monster-filled sea with some crystallized sections, held up by a thick layer of dense mud. This is the last layer of the Void where it is possible to bear the Curse and return alive and intact. An ancient ritual site, Ido Front, which became a lab by Bondrewd and his crew acts as a gateway into the 6th layer, the point of no return.

### 6th Layer: The Capitol of the Unreturned

* **Depth:** 13,000–15,500 meters.

* **Strains of Ascent:** Loss of humanity or death, or under specific conditions, the Blessing.

* **Description:** A White Whistle's last dive. A humanoid who tries to ascend from the 6th layer either succumbs to death, or is deformed beyond recognition, hence the name, "The Capital of the Unreturned." In Orth, there is a rumor about a Golden City at the bottom of the Void, which originated from the 6th layer, where the ruins of a majestic city sleep undisturbed. It is not uncommon to come across creatures of an irrational danger level here. In a secluded area of the 6th Layer, an entire village inhabited by Narehate called Ilblu was formed.

### 7th Layer: The Final Maelstrom

* **Depth:** 15,500–????? meters.

* **Strains of Ascent:** Certain death.

* **Description:** The final known layer of the Void. Not much is known about it, but there are many rumors about it transmitted from the Last Dives of generations of White Whistle Delvers, which are only passed down via word of mouth by none but themselves. These include the claim that from above something shaped like a ring, only a few White Whistle Delvers are said to have seen, is visible and that supposedly along the path to the bottom of the Void creatures which are apparently shrouded in mystery, called "Gatekeepers", exist.

### The Deepest Point

* **Depth: +**20,000 meters.

* **Strains of Ascent:** ???

* **D****escription:** Only seven people have ever successfully reached the bottom of the Void: The Lich King and Johnny and the Jets. The lich placed their phylactery here, and the adventurers delved to destroy it. The bottom is devoid of both light and life.