Category:Voidsent

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Using knowledge gathered from folklore, encounters, and actual summonings, scholars of the void have taken to categorizing the creatures into one of twelve rungs representing relative strength and intelligence—the lower the number, the more formidable the voidsent in relation to others. These ranks by no means have bearing on a creature's actual standing within the void, and merely serve to help Eorzeans better understand these mysterious and violent visitors.

— Encyclopædia Eorzea vol 1

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For generations, scholars have struggled to make sense of the void, its secrets both literally and figuratively veiled in shadow. Revelations that the plane may, in fact, be a reflection of our own world stripped of its aether by a flood of Darkness have helped shed new light on the true nature of the benighted realm and its denizens so eager to abandon their home for ours—discoveries made possible by the continued efforts of the Warrior of Light and his loyal companions.

— Encyclopædia Eorzea vol 2

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The void itself is but one reflection of the Source, and is more properly termed the Thirteenth. Although at one point in the distant past the world and its creatures were not unlike our own, a flood of Darkness swallowed all trace of Light, twisting its denizens into tormented husks cursed with an insatiable hunger for aether.

— Encyclopædia Eorzea vol 3

All creatures belonging to the class Voidsent. All Voidsent, by definition, originate on the Thirteenth Shard, commonly known as The Void.

Lore

"The creature is not born of this land, but cometh atherwhence, yet fro whethen it came, men wot not, and voidsent is it thus yeleped." - Frandelont Raimdelle

Prior to its discovery as an actual existing realm parallel to ours, the void was simply an imagined place that ignorant peoples used as a convenient answer to questions they were unable to answer. Whither comes the unknown beast? The void. What causes the moons to wane? The void. However, it has been since proven to be a realm not dissimilar to ours, albeit one devoid of light, a trait that has given rise to terrible creatures—creatures who will stop at nothing to invade our realm and sup on our life-giving aether.

The Properties of the Void and Voidsent

If recent treatises penned by the Scions of the Seventh Dawn are to be believed, Hydaelyn may be more than a realm created and ruled by a pantheon of Twelve, but also the embodiment of two sentient beings—the eponymous “Mother” of our world and Her antithesis, Zodiark, and that it is a conflict between these two that resulted in the void’s creation. Hydaelyn—will of Light—sensing treachery at the hands of Zodiark—will of Darkness—banished Her twin, sealing Him deep within the moon. This excision of Light from Darkness, however, left a wound in the aether, splitting the corporeal plane from the “Source” into ten and three mirrored “reflections” which, while identical upon their formation, saw separate and unique evolutions.

A successful foray into the void by members of an expeditionary party known as the "fellowship of NOAH" revealed the realm to be a dark vacuum lacking any and all traces of sether, but possessing traits that suggest that it may once have been teeming with life. The Scions expand on these observations, explaining that the void is actually one of Hydaelyn's reflections from which all light was struck following a "Flood of Darkness." Stripped of balance between Light and Darkness, ambient aether could no longer exist, leaving a realm "void" of life energy. Without the aether required for survival, the realm's denizens grew twisted of mind and body, eventually devolving into what we now know as voidsent.

Summoning Voidsent

Though one could walk a thousand malms and never reach the other, the void and the Source lie but a hair's breadth apart, separated by an unseen veil serving to prevent travel between the two worlds. This veil, however, is not absolute, and with the right amount of aetherial force can be tom to create temporary gateways-gateways to which aether-starved voidsent are drawn, sensing the life energies of our realm. Naturally occurring rents are typically minor, allowing only the smallest and weakest of voidsent through before the wound heals. However in the years leading up to and following the Calamity, the barrier between the two planes has grown weak, resulting in larger and more frequent tears and thusly stronger intruders.

Recognizing the power that lies in this dark realm, mankind has developed methods of creating artificial rents and therefrom summoning voidsent, binding the beings into service with precarious bloodpacts. In the Third Astral Era, the emperor Xande sought to enter a covenant with the Cloud of Darkness that he might utilize her power in the conquering of the world. Taking cue from the Allagans, mages of Fifth Astral Era Mhach summoned voidsent into Eorzea not only to fight their wars, but to power their creations an endeavor that ultimately met with disastrous results. Since then, void summoning has fallen out of fashion, being deemed both dangerous and harmful to the world's aetherial balance. Natheless, this has not prevented cultists from dabbling in the deadly art-their achievements finding immortality in forbidden tomes such as the Necrologus.

Voidsent summoning is most oft conducted using one of two methods. The first entails the opening of a voidgate-a rent in the veil large enough for most of the realm's denizens to pass through. However, casting a spell capable not only of opening a hole of sufficient size, but sustaining it for any duration is costly, requiring massive amounts of aether. The second is far more aether-efficient, requiring but a small hole through which the soul or essence of a voidsent passes. The soul will then possess a "vessel" provided by the summoner-the drawback of this method being that, the stronger the voidsent summoned, the more powerful the vessel required to contain the soul.

The Voidal Hierarchy

Using knowledge gathered from folklore, encounters, and actual summonings, scholars of the void have taken to categorizing the creatures into one of twelve rungs representing relative strength and intelligence—the lower the number, the more formidable the voidsent in relation to others. These ranks by no means have bearing on a creature’s actual standing within the void, and merely serve to help Eorzeans better understand these mysterious and violent visitors. ^[1]