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The outside is a sea of white light, an infinity of energy in semi-stable waves. Time moves forward and backward and in stranger directions. Standing waves shift gradually and sometimes form very complex patterns; sentient or semi-sentient entities can develop. These we call Outsiders.
Some outsiders, for unknown reasons, roam around gathering as much of the endless sea of energy into themselves as possible, growing to incredible size (though the outside has no real sense of scale). We call these outsiders azathoths. When an azathoth has absorbed enough energy and often engulfed several smaller outsiders in the process, it begins to collapse in on itself, bending the timespace and energy waves around it and creating a bubble, a dark spot in the sea of white. Eventually it contracts down to a single point, a vast amount of energy condensed into almost zero physical space. The resulting explosion creates what we think of as reality. Within the azathoth’s bubble, time flows in one direction and physical laws and constants remain static. Our reality bubble contains not only what we think of as our universe but also a multitude of alternate realities and otherworlds reachable by various forms of magic.
Certain kinds of outsiders have an affinity for our type of universe and are drawn to it. As it ages, the bubble naturally develops small tears that allow smaller outsiders to reach inside and manifest themselves. Eventually, when our universe approaches its final heat-death, these tears will open completely and the whole bubble will dissolve. For now, they merely allow strange beings to invade our reality for various purposes.
Most outsiders we simply cannot comprehend in any way, but the outsiders who cluster around our universe were drawn there because they relate to its nature in some way. Outsiders who actually manifest within our world must allow the bubble’s rules to shape them somewhat. The resulting manifestations are still very alien, but sentients from our universe are usually able to at least communicate with them.
The ‘tears’ in our universe often take unexpected forms. It is relatively common for a ‘tear’ to exist within the mind of a sentient being. People who contain/embody tears are called summoners, and have a certain affinity for the outside and for outsiders. Powerful summoners are said to be able to hear the voices of outsiders begging for a way in.
Outsiders often form pacts and contracts with summoners, in which the outsider will help the summoner in some way in exchange for access to the world. Contracts are more formal arrangements which end when both sides fulfill their obligation, pacts are more informal and involve a relationship between the summoner and outsider.
Most commonly, outsiders want summoners to grant them a haunt or a hallow. Outsiders can project a physical body into our world, but cannot keep it stable outside the influence of a summoner or rift unless they also have a haunt or hallow. A haunt is often described as an outsider’s footprint in our world. To create one, a summoner must perform a ritual that allows a significant portion of an outsider to enter our world and ‘possess’ a place. The smallest possible haunts are spaces like closets, but outsiders of such small size are quite rare. Most haunts are between the size of a bedroom and a large house; outliers on the large side can be the size of an entire town.
Hallows are found at the heart of the haunts of outsiders who are very firmly entrenched in our world. Other outsiders can be thought of as containing little universes of their own; hallows are places where those pocket universes overlap with ours. The influence of the outsider is exceptionally strong in this place and physical laws may not be as expected.
There are two unusual classes of outsiders encountered in our universe. The Unwelcome, sometimes called intruders, are entities that should not be here. They may be parasites or may have taken a wrong turn somehow in the chaos Outside; there’s no real way of knowing. The Unwelcome are antithetical to the existence of our reality bubble and do not conform to its rules the same way normal visitors do. They are probably sentient but nobody has ever successfully communicated with them. Their presence causes bizzare and damaging distortions to time and space and they must be removed as soon as possible.
Insiders are the Outsiders that were originally engulfed by the azathoth before our reality was created. Unlike all other Outsiders, they exist entirely within our reality and its laws have grown up to accommodate their existence. They all have important functions within reality, most of which we do not understand. We are most familiar with the handful of insiders who act as the universe’s immune system, eliminating the Unwelcome and acting to repair or prevent large, uncontrolled tears and rifts.
Some outsiders, for unknown reasons, roam around gathering as much of the endless sea of energy into themselves as possible, growing to incredible size (though the outside has no real sense of scale). We call these outsiders azathoths. When an azathoth has absorbed enough energy and often engulfed several smaller outsiders in the process, it begins to collapse in on itself, bending the timespace and energy waves around it and creating a bubble, a dark spot in the sea of white. Eventually it contracts down to a single point, a vast amount of energy condensed into almost zero physical space. The resulting explosion creates what we think of as reality. Within the azathoth’s bubble, time flows in one direction and physical laws and constants remain static. Our reality bubble contains not only what we think of as our universe but also a multitude of alternate realities and otherworlds reachable by various forms of magic.
Certain kinds of outsiders have an affinity for our type of universe and are drawn to it. As it ages, the bubble naturally develops small tears that allow smaller outsiders to reach inside and manifest themselves. Eventually, when our universe approaches its final heat-death, these tears will open completely and the whole bubble will dissolve. For now, they merely allow strange beings to invade our reality for various purposes.
Most outsiders we simply cannot comprehend in any way, but the outsiders who cluster around our universe were drawn there because they relate to its nature in some way. Outsiders who actually manifest within our world must allow the bubble’s rules to shape them somewhat. The resulting manifestations are still very alien, but sentients from our universe are usually able to at least communicate with them.
The ‘tears’ in our universe often take unexpected forms. It is relatively common for a ‘tear’ to exist within the mind of a sentient being. People who contain/embody tears are called summoners, and have a certain affinity for the outside and for outsiders. Powerful summoners are said to be able to hear the voices of outsiders begging for a way in.
Outsiders often form pacts and contracts with summoners, in which the outsider will help the summoner in some way in exchange for access to the world. Contracts are more formal arrangements which end when both sides fulfill their obligation, pacts are more informal and involve a relationship between the summoner and outsider.
Most commonly, outsiders want summoners to grant them a haunt or a hallow. Outsiders can project a physical body into our world, but cannot keep it stable outside the influence of a summoner or rift unless they also have a haunt or hallow. A haunt is often described as an outsider’s footprint in our world. To create one, a summoner must perform a ritual that allows a significant portion of an outsider to enter our world and ‘possess’ a place. The smallest possible haunts are spaces like closets, but outsiders of such small size are quite rare. Most haunts are between the size of a bedroom and a large house; outliers on the large side can be the size of an entire town.
Hallows are found at the heart of the haunts of outsiders who are very firmly entrenched in our world. Other outsiders can be thought of as containing little universes of their own; hallows are places where those pocket universes overlap with ours. The influence of the outsider is exceptionally strong in this place and physical laws may not be as expected.
There are two unusual classes of outsiders encountered in our universe. The Unwelcome, sometimes called intruders, are entities that should not be here. They may be parasites or may have taken a wrong turn somehow in the chaos Outside; there’s no real way of knowing. The Unwelcome are antithetical to the existence of our reality bubble and do not conform to its rules the same way normal visitors do. They are probably sentient but nobody has ever successfully communicated with them. Their presence causes bizzare and damaging distortions to time and space and they must be removed as soon as possible.
Insiders are the Outsiders that were originally engulfed by the azathoth before our reality was created. Unlike all other Outsiders, they exist entirely within our reality and its laws have grown up to accommodate their existence. They all have important functions within reality, most of which we do not understand. We are most familiar with the handful of insiders who act as the universe’s immune system, eliminating the Unwelcome and acting to repair or prevent large, uncontrolled tears and rifts.
