Horror of the Abyss

Horrors of the Abyss are strange and monstrous creatures which dwell in the furthest depths of the Bottomless West and the Roiling Abyss, where the light of the Unconquered Sun cannot penetrate and the ocean floor itself ceases to be a reliable concept.

The Horrors of the Abyss are difficult to describe, for even with artificial light, where illumination shines the Horrors vanish, and few have ventured so deep and returned to tell the tale. Some fragmentary records describe vast gelatinous bodies, twisting and writhing with thousands of tendrils and teeth, that continue to act as one even should they be torn asunder. Some tales speak that they are the forgotten beings forged by the Primordials but cast aside out of sight when found wanting, others that they are gods who held true to their masters in the Primordial War and were chained into their black prisons by the surrender-oaths of the Yozis, others that they are beast of the Wyld or the Underworld, penetrating Creation where its bottom has cracked and things beyond are drawn through.

How many Horrors of the Abyss exist is uncertain, for they might be dozens of small beings melded together, or each might be merely appendage of a single vast entity. Regardless, to do battle with a Horror is a task that would strain even the potent Exalted, should they have reason to descend so deep at all.

One reason for such a journey, of course, lies with artifice. A piece cut from a Horror is of great occult significance, an ideal component for artifacts that seek to escape the glow of light and manipulate shadow. Gathering such components is highly difficult, for one must not only battle a Horror to remove a chunk of its being, but one must preserve this in a sealed leaden vessel, and incorporate it into one’s artifact in complete darkness, for if light touches upon it before it has been fully incorporated, its mystical properties quickly dissipate.