Hidden Face - The 9th String

The Writer

While the Eternal Sphere #18 represents the vast and nearly limitless sum of all posibilities in time-&-space as we know it, certain "regions" on time or "possibilities" are of particular interest. Since they are not composed only of spatial areas but also of the sum of events on it and, thus, the peculiar and unique arrangement of physical and metaphysical laws present on them, they are aptly named "Strings", as they show a distinctive posibility of what the multiverse "could-be-&-is". There is (for practical terms) a nearly infinite number of variants of what our multiverse could be, but some variants are so similar in between (to the point of being nearly identical) that they aren't truely noteworthy. However, those few which present a remarkably different array of features is designated with a number. While most of our players and readers are likely familiarized with the MagnaVerse at large thanks to settings such as AxisKeep, and with the many worlds inside the Eternal Sphere #18, is worth nothing that, to date, very little has been said of the "otherverses" inside the Eternal Sphere #18, as TayBalê, Earth, Ark'Aydes, Ixmyukhan, and many other mentioned worlds and their storylines all take place on The 2nd String, which means they all belong to a far more recent iteration of The Eternal Sphere #18, as the strings are numerated with higher number according to how old they are. So, this time, we are taking a closer look to a far older (and definetely darker) iteration of The Eternal Sphere #18: The 9th String.

The 9th String is possibly one of the oldest iterations of The Eternal Sphere #18, which makes it the more close to the Netherverse, thus, infusing most of it with a heavy amount of negative energy. Now, negative energy is not evil per sé but, it is, nonetheless, far easier for evil to thrive on it, making it easier for the denizens of the worlds in The 9th String to be prone to lean into darkness and evil that it would be on The 2nd String, where things are considerably more balanced, if not slightly tipped towards goodness. Curiosly enough, however, the axis in between law and chaos remains considerably unchanged, perhaps ever so slightly inclined towards chaos, thought this latter feature seems more a consecuense than a primordial trait of The 9th String as, drawn to the steady influx of negative energy from the Netherverse, many denizens from the lower planes have flocked and hurried to open scarring rifts and belching portals across many of the material worlds on this variant of our multiverse. This means that The Blood War rages far stronger than ever in this otherverse, with battles and skirmishes being longer, bloodier, and more devastating without the intervention of the agents of the Empyreal Lords, who find little to save on an otherverse "damned from it's very inception", as they tend to phrase when referring to it.

In general lines, the physical and metaphysical laws as most players and readers of other VOYAGER stories/settings know them are largely unchanged for mechanical and tactical game purposes. Nevertheless, it can't be stressed enough that, with a universe bent towards darkness, heroes tend to fail altogether more often, evil triumphs with more impunity and resourcefullness, grim survival of the fittest devours any altruism in the heart of people, vile is more common than justice, fear has a clear victory over hope, and any kind of happy ending is far rarer than anywhere else, sometimes, to the point of being the stuff of myths and legends, rather than heroic deeds. The heroic characters of The 9th String are, thus, grimm and dark, their minds and hearts (and, sometimes, their bodies as well) scarred beyond recognition, for only turning as dark as the evil they intend to vanquish they have any hope of achieving such goals. Nevertheless, this path leads, way too often, to their own downfall, as they turn, sooner or later, in what they swore to defeat once. It is, as such, no wonder that anybody pursuing the path of power, be it for good or evil, is equally feared by those who choose to turn their minds only towards the present and the survival of the self, indulging themselves in the subtle evil of indiference and the stagnation of complacense. This is not to mean that good cannot be found on the hearts on those who take power on their hands, for even in these barren worlds and cursed realms exists room for such things as mercy, honor, or love, even if they appear more as emaciated and starved visages of what they could be if restored to a former glory that never was in this otherverse. By this token, the champions of The 9th String rarely fight for good, honor or love: it is far more common to find in them revenge, despair, or sorrow as the sole motivators on their carreers, for nothing comes for free on the MagnaVerse and, in The 9th String of The Eternal Sphere #18, the prize is doubled, if not tripled in most cases.

With this on mind, venture forth at your own risk, traveler: The 9th String is a bleak universe where all hope shall be abandoned in order to survive, a distant echo of the sorrow experimented by those who were left orphaned when time came to be and who still linger in the darkest shadows of the Hidden Face.

- The Writer.