Abyss
The layers of the Abyss are ever-shifting. In Primus, they are numbered in order of discovery, but many layers exist which have not yet been numbered. The realm continues to perpetuate itself, spreading even into other realms. Were the abyssal forces not occupied in their endless Blood War with Baator, they would doubtless consume the entire multiverse.
Geography
Mapping the abyss is an effort in futility that not even the most ambitious of the Cartographers' Guild attempt. Even its own layers do not have a consistent size, scale, or placement. Their numbers in Primus records, rather than outlining stops along a linear path, note the order in which they were discovered.
There are no constancies in geography between abyssal layers, either. The only thing they all seem to have in common is their hostility to non-demonic life.
History
Legends say that in another universe, there existed horrifically powerful evil beings called Obyriths. Having consumed everything in their own reality, they concentrated their hatred and avarice into a Seed of Pure Evil that could pierce the gap between realities.
These efforts opened the mind of Tharizdun to the Obyrith's influence. Driven mad by it, he created the Abyss, completing the gateway for the Obyriths to enter the Crossroad Realms.
The Obyrith's brought their Seed of Evil with them, and it spewed forth layers of entropic domains, spawning death and demons in equal measure. Later, the once-angel Asmodeus, on a holy quest to fight back these hordes, attacked the Seed at the heart of the Abyss, and took a shard of it with him.
This loss does not seem to have slowed the Abyssal propagation, but it has focused the hordes' attention on Asmodeus' base Realm of Baator.
According to legend, the Abyss originally formed when the mind of Tharizdun was infected by beings from another dimension. He perverted his own realm, whose name has been lost, and drew forth the Seed of Pure Evil. The seed immediately began belching forth Abyssal Layers, each of which spawned Tanar'ri Demons. This rift allowed the Obyrith to pass through. They swiftly enslaved their creations and mobilized them against the world.
A contingent of Celestial Soldiers led by the then-archangel Asmodeus was dispatched to battle back the demonic hordes. Twisted by the Abyss' influence, they began to transform into the first devils. Asmodeus' forces plunged into the deepest parts of the Abyss, and struck at the Seed of Pure Evil, breaking off a piece.
Though the The Blood War began with the first strike by the Celestial Armies, it was the loss of the Shard that ensured its continuation. The loss - or theft - drew the Abyss' attention nearly completely onto Asmodeus' new Realm of Baator. The Infernal Armies and the Abyssal Hordes have been locked in a stalemate since.
This stalemate has also mitigated the spread of the Abyss. Abyssal Incursions are exceedingly rare since the beginning of the Blood War, though the threat of them is enough to make the sight of even a single demon outside of the Abyss to be ample cause for alarm.
Color Pool:
Dark Purple
Tuning Fork:
Iron
Dark Purple
Tuning Fork:
Iron
Type
Abyss
Location under
Included Locations
Contested By