Zenith & Penumbra Cosmology – The Nameless Dark
“He is anger wrought from love; shadows born from brightest light. His reach is immense, and yet eternally bound. His power touches the hearts of all creatures, and all he asks is to give us what our dark hearts truly want.”
-Unknown Dour Theologist
The origins of the Nameless Dark, the ineffable evil that plagued the dawn of Zenith, are unknown. Some scholars insist that the being was once a living mortal creature, twisted and corrupted by the darkness and evil they witnessed. Others believe it is a slain god, a remnant of a pantheon long-since dissolved. Still others insist that the Nameless Dark is an elemental force, just as the wind blows and the tide recedes. By far the most common misconception is that it is some manner of divine being. The Nameless Dark does not feed off of evil, though…its power grows out of the potential for evil.
None can recall the details of the Nameless Dark’s physical form. The fey are remarkably tight-lipped about all inquiries into its nature, but it is believed that Verana’s un-naming took more than its true name, twisting it into an unrecognizable phantasm. Fendus’s journal describes a creature as large as a mountain, with claws as long as trees and a decidedly bestial appearance. The veracity of such descriptions are questionable at best.
The Nameless Dark’s physical form was destroyed, though fragments of it remain, permeating the land in a perpetual sinister aura. The most notable of such remains are the swamps of Mortannia, where the Nameless Dark shed his blood. A portion of it is known to reside in a separate pocket dimension, tended to by maddened cultists that forever revere it. Another portion is thought to reside at the bottom of the Eastern Ocean. The rest, thankfully, has been annihilated.
Its motives are unknown, but it seems to be most effective in playing off the insecurities and desires of mortals, drawing power in the twisting and corruption of otherwise good and simple folk. Through its tainted influence, it plays off of feelings of jealousy, powerlessness, sorrow, and rage to convince a potential convert into committing a horrible deed and succumb to a unique form of tainted madness.
Unable to act directly in any world, the most powerful of the Nameless Dark’s converts become his heralds, feeding off and spreading misery in their wake. They seek other converts, though their motives are equally alien. Most scholars agree, though, that whatever their motivations, the Nameless Dark and its heralds are most likely making overtures aimed at its resurrection.
| Name | AL | Portfolio | Domains | Favored Weapon |
| The Nameless Dark & Heralds | ||||
| Corruption | CE | Betrayal, deception, entropy | Chaos, Charm, Decay (Plant), Deception (Trickery), Evil | Spiked Gauntlet |
| Cowardice | NE | Fear, paranoia, self-preservation | Evil, Night (Darkness), Nightmare (Madness), Wards (Rune) | Dagger |
| Greed | LE | Avarice, objectification, power | Artifice, Evil, Knowledge, Law, Magic | Trident |
| Jealousy | NE | Covetousness, desire, insanity | Insanity (Madness), Lust (Charm), Murder (Death), Evil | Warhammer |
| Rage | CE | Fury, petulance, violence | Chaos, Ferocity (Strength), Evil, Rage (Destruction), War | Greatsword |
| Sorrow | NE | Depression, loneliness, woe | Catastrophe (Destruction), Curse (Luck), Evil, Loss (Darkness) | Whip |
| The Nameless Dark (General) | NE | Temptation, corruption, evil | Darkness, Destruction, Evil, Madness, Trickery | Spiked Chain |
The Nameless Dark – Ineffable evil, the darkness in the hearts of man, the Nameless Dark has existed since ancient times, its origins remain largely a mystery even to otherworldly scholars. It had a name, once. Perhaps even a mortal form. However during the Battle of the Fall, Verana and the Courts of the Fey stole, scattered, and sealed fragments of the Nameless Dark’s true name. All written records referring to its name and identity were erased, leaving behind the variety of monikers it now possesses. The Nameless Dark was slain by Alezeir Kresch, but it has left its mark upon the world nevertheless. The fetid swamps of Mortannia, the Great Swirling Void (a massive whirlpool in the Eastern Sea), and some even say the Shattering of Astros are all effects of the Nameless Dark’s destruction.
But the Nameless Dark lives on, buried in the hearts of all mortals. It represents not a great monolithic entity of evil, but rather the potential for great sin amongst all living things; particularly humankind. The flashes of anger, the pangs of jealousy, the depths of sadness are all gates to the Nameless Dark’s influence. Only those utterly gripped by such feelings have a chance to attract the Nameless Dark’s attention, which often manifests in a desire to correct their station in life, or the tragedy that caused their misery. Often times the influence of the Nameless Dark is so gradual and barely noticed that it can take years, even decades before a mortal soul is lost to the shadows. But it is patient, and plays an exceptionally long game.
The death and un-naming of the Nameless Dark has rendered it virtually powerless in directly influencing the worlds and planes. However it has claimed various champions to act in its name, often embodiments of a particular concept that it holds dominion over. These champions are damningly dangerous, difficult to detect, and utterly baffling in their motivations. There are six current champions, each one capable of granting spells and powers to their worshippers. Champions have been slain before, their portfolio absorbed back into the Nameless Dark’s essence. Other champions that once existed include: arrogance, deceit, despair, emptiness, and shame.
- Corruption (Shadow Given Form, Divine Caster) – The strongest of the Nameless Dark’s champions embodies the innate corrupting influence of its portfolio. Considered to be the High Priest of the Nameless Dark’s cult, Shadow Given Form is a humanoid creature comprised entirely of shadow. Though it has been slain more than once, it continues to crop up elsewhere in short order. Its purpose seems to be to actively corrupt the land and seek out the greatest champions of goodness to lay them low. None know if it was once a living mortal or if it is, in fact, some shard of the Nameless Dark’s own consciousness.
- Cowardice (Simon Krenschov, Bestial Brawler) – Once a cousin to the king and mighty warrior of the Krenschov family, Simon was the sole survivor of an excursion into the evil swamps of Mortannia to eradicate the presence of the Nameless Dark’s cult. Gripped by a loss of resolve, his shame and cowardice propelled him into the service of the Nameless Dark. He now exists as a hideous monster, trapped for centuries beneath the village of Mordas. He has only recently returned to spread his terror through the land.
- Greed (The Chronicler, Arcane Caster) – In life he was a friendly and curious scholar, although in the end that curiosity would be his undoing as he accomplished the legendary feat of acquiring a sample of the Nameless Dark’s blood. Such proximity to the mortal remains of darkness corrupted him nearly instantaneously, twisting his curiosity into a voracious desire to amass knowledge, power, and wealth. Now quite mad, he remains sequestered in a resplendent fortress of blackened gold where he studies, plots, and amasses all manner of wealth.
- Jealousy (Mason Reynolds, Assassin) – A humble carpenter from the village of Scholis in Schattenburg who became gripped by jealousy when the love of his life passed him in favor of his friend, the rugged huntsman of their village. His jealousy came to a heated head one night in a fit of murder he slew his old friend. Overwhelmed by guilt and grief, he opted to live a quiet life, but was never able to fully repent and come to terms with what he did. His mortal form was slain by adventurers, however when he died his body decayed into millions of maggots that disappeared. He has not been seen since, however his presence can be felt in the hearts of jealous souls.
- Rage (Lord Fayen Malcross, Berserker) – Formerly an Orlindian jarl, Fayen traveled to Mortannia to hunt down the man who murdered his sister and her family. Manipulated by a shadowy advisor, Fayen succumbed to his desire for vengeance at all costs and actively drew upon tainted power to achieve his goals. Thought to have been slain in Mortannia, Fayen persists as a shell of his former self, endlessly hunting the land for vessels to visit rage upon and spreading destruction and chaos in his wake.
- Sorrow (Kinume, Dirge Singer) – The tragic turning of the young Kinume occurred just recently. A young human from Avalon, adopted by a wandering Tenkae Elf and taken to the Adventurer’s Academy, she became infected when tending for her guardian’s tainted wounds. Her transformation into the embodiment of Sorrow was astoundingly quick, capitalizing on feelings of abandonment and loneliness. Since her turning, she has traveled Zenith as an enigmatic young child, collecting a series of thralls along the way. Yet no amount of newfound companionship can fill the void in her heart, the eternal longing for the caretaker who (she thinks) abandoned her.