The Breath of Chaos
In my travels, I've had plenty of terrifying encounters. Monsters of all kinds, serial killing Demons, traitorous waves of energy... but this thing, I never felt this way before.It was like staring into an entity of cosmic proportion. In its face, I was nothing. Val Mortan, explorer of Chaos
There is little in The Chaos that explains it origin, location in the Cosmic Reality, or purpose in the grand scheme of things, but the Breath is as close as one could come. Of the few humans that went, and came back sane, most have reported this pulsating void, absorbing energy and arcana from its surroundings, as if it was one giant, living entity. The few Demons captured and interrogated about it all said it was older than them, and that even the Lords of Chaos give it a respectful distance, unaware of its purpose or its power. Not far from its location lie the ruins of Balatrek, the one and only try of humanity to establish a foothold in the Chaos, and still to this day can be found the wandering souls of its inhabitants, condemned to roam forever, never to be in peace again.
The Breath of Chaos
One artist managed to enter the Chaos, and give a representation of the Breath, before succumbing to the madness and dying in his nightmares-filled sleep, his face contorted in absolute terror.
The moodiness of the Breath
It is quite hard not to regard the Breath as a living entity, when it seems to "chose" people to approach it. Aside from the Lords of Chaos, who are generally safe around it, the only people that have managed to get anywhere close to it safely were Val Mortan and Valita. The others have been reduced to Arcanic paste by its temperamental thunder.
Although theories are widly speculative and some theoretical Arcanists flat-out deny the existence of the Breath, the main belief generally admitted is that the Breath of Chaos absorbs the Immaterial Eternity, and is preparing to give birth to something. Considering its cosmic proportion and power, the nature of whatever entity is going to exit its endless maw is far beyond imagination. Val Mortan claims to have seen a vision of a colossal entity, beyond the scope of anything ever seen before, that could reduce an entire continent to embers in an instant, and dethrone the gods themselves in a swipe of its monstruous claws, but his writings are to be taken with a grain of salt.
And then, I saw it in front of me. It was bigger than a mountain, so big I could not even see its features clearly. It was staring at me with the confidence only an entity so far superior could exhibit, and it seemed almost amused at my existence. I'm not a coward, Mish, but in that moment, I felt the universe crumble. If that creature is to ever be born, it will be the end of everything. Nothing can stop that thing, not the gods, not the Demons. We are nothing in the grand scope of things, I always knew that, but knowing and seeing is different. I don't think it left me alive because it liked me. I think I was meant to be a warning.
Val Mortan, letter to Mish Astel, 8th of January, 421 CE
Val Mortan, letter to Mish Astel, 8th of January, 421 CE
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