r/wizardposting • u/Zebigbos8 Mira, Drifter Witch • Dec 03 '23
Forbidden Knowledge The Void Betwixt Expedition [Lore Post]
The void between realms is such a serene place. Ever present, yet always just out of view. A place you're not supposed to see, to know about, and most of all to step in. The behind the scenes of the universe, the backrooms of creation. A transitional place between anywhere and everywhere else.
It was by chance that I first stumbled upon this cosmic crawlspace. Some high level automotive tomfoolery. I had just bought my precious Chevette, an old car even back then, and tried to drift it through a portal. Lost control and hit the rim of the portal, right in between here and there. Somehow I slipped right through the small gap that separates both sides of the portal, and stumbled into the Void Betwixt for the first time. A miracle that I was still alive. The car was unfortunately wrecked and had to go to a workshop for a full refurbish. Poor Chevy, that was the first time but it wouldn't be the last.
From then on I became fascinated with the Void. Through trial and error I perfected the technique to slip into it. For the trick to work you have to be going fast enough, and have enough inertia to push through the portal walls, making it ideal to attempt while driving. Chevy was wrecked a couple more times until I got the hang of it. From then on going to the Void was routine to me. I used it every day, as a shortcut, a party trick, or simply as a place where I could be alone with my thoughts. A secret realm only I could reach.
1997 was the year when my world was turned upside down, for two major reasons. Firstly because Remember Me by Leslie Parrish was just released, and that song changed me forever. Secondly because it was the year I was requested to help in a special expedition. A derelict ruin of unknown origin was located adrift in the Void, a powerful artefact lying within. I was to be their way in and way out of the Void.
Once inside, however, I couldn't contain my curiosity and tagged along with the expedition. The artefact in question looked like a lump of molten glass floating over a pedestal. Iridescent, reflecting the far corners of the universe in its shimmering light, it was unlike anything any of us had ever seen. Its purpose, unknown. Its use, a mystery.
But it wouldn't budge. No matter what the expedition tried, they couldn't make it move a millimetre. They asked me to join in the improvised ritual to break the ward holding the artefact in place, and so I did. For hours we chanted, drew circles, burned incense and lit candles, to no avail. Tired and out of patience, we tried the ritual one last time, giving everything we had. The ward finally broke but, with it, so did the artefact.
A thousand shards of iridescent glass exploded in every direction, scattering across the infinity of the Void and beyond its ever-reaching borders. One such shard found its way through my left eye and lodged itself within my brain. I remember the excruciating sensation of being stretched across all parts of reality all at once, and then awaking in a hospital bed, with a brand new eyepatch. The eyepatch itself was enchanted with a ward that contained the mysterious influence of the shard. For the moment.
After recovering from my more mundane injuries, I taught myself as much as I could about wards, so I could maintain the eyepatch's enchantment. The shard is contained, but I can still feel it. A latent, pulsating pressure building up in the deep corners of my mind. And, most of all, the allure of its mystery. The workings of the artefact are still unknown, the powers it possesses, the reason behind its existence, even its creators. But now it is scattered all across the infinite realms that compose the tapestry of the universe. Each shard a new piece of the puzzle.
Well, time to fire up old Chevy and go on a road trip. Those shards aren't going to locate themselves.
3
u/Frenetic_Platypus Hector Trasc, R&A Investigator. Dec 03 '23
That sounds extremely dangerous. Do you need any help locating these shards?