Labyrinth, The Nexus
Threshold to All Planes
Labyrinth, The Nexus —aka The Maze —is located atop the Allgod's Weapon in The Astral Plane, and is one of the few pockets of the Silver Sea where time and gravity function normally. It has the shape of an open sphere; the city itself is inside the sphere. The form of the city much is like a disordered onion, with layers and streets merging or intersecting over time and through disuse. There is no sky, simply an all-pervasive light that waxes and wanes to create "day and night". Labyrinth cannot be entered or exited save via portals, the largest of which are Gates, permanently-accessible portals and the beginnings of large, multi-Planar trade routes. This makes it quite safe from any would-be invader.
Though Labyrinth is pseudo-geographically located "at the center of the planes" (where it floats above the infinitely bottomless Allgod's Weapon), some scholars argue that this is impossible since the planes are infinite in all dimensions, and therefore there can never truly be a center to any of them, let alone all of them. Thus, Labyrinth is of no special importance. Other scholars call this utter garboil, arguing that Labyrinth is the only known polis which connects to the entire Multiverse.
Labyrinth's Rulers and Neutrality
The rulers of Labyrinth, The Nexus are the mysterious Pale Influences, who reside within the far depths of the Allgod's Weapon. The Pale Influences do not concern themselves with the laws of the city, only interfering when something threatens the stability of Labyrinth itself. However, they are entities of inscrutable motives, and often those who cross their will, even accidentally, are spontaneously flayed to death through unknown, invisible means. It is widely believed that they never speak, although some unconfirmed Singsong to the contrary exists.
Labyrinth is a theoretical neutral ground: no wars are waged there and no armies pass through. Furthermore, no Gods or Primordials are allowed to enter into Labyrinth; the Pale Influences barred them from The Maze, but some disguised avatars have made it in and been promptly dispatched by the Influences. It is also of great interest to Powers, as they could use Labyrinth to send their worshipers anywhere, and it is at the center of the Outer Planes. Labyrinth is hardly peaceful; with such a condensed population, consisting of everything from angelic devas to demonic glabrezu, violence is common, usually befalling the foolhardy, the incautious, or the poor. Most natives of Labyrinth ("Mazers") are quite jaded as a result of living there.
People coming to Labyrinth from the Prime Material Plane are often treated as clueless inferiors by the planar elitists who dwell there. They are thus widely referred to as Tyros, or more charitably, as Primes.
The Allgod's Weapon
The Allgod's Weapon was designed by the Gods to defend the polis they created, Labyrinth, The Nexus. The city floats over the Allgod's Weapon, limiting entrance into The Maze. Those who seek to fly to Labyrinth find themselves pulled into the Weapon's black, shining form. The only true entrances are Portals and Gates. The event horizon of the Weapon is a iridescent white ring.
Initially named in mockery of the Soul's Eye guild, the name struck. Scholars have found it hard to study the Allgod's Weapon, due to its extrinsic nature. What is known is that the closer you get to the center of the Weapon, the more time and space contracts. The magic of Labyrinth limits the effects to maintaining normal time and gravity within the city; but effects of the Weapon become more and more pronounced within the Under-Labyrinth, the ruinous remnants of older parts of Labyrinth which the magic of the city cast out. By studying the Under-Labyrinth, scholars have been able to discover that time and space itself warps within the Allgod's Weapon. Those who fall into the event horizon of the Allgod's Weapon find themselves compacted over eternity, until —in theory —their forms become so small as to be unviewable by the naked eye or by magic.
Time in Labyrinth
Planar scholars have noted that the polis of Labyrinth is one of the few pockets in the Astral Plane where time and gravity function normally. However, there are no sun, moon, or stars in the Silver Sea. Labyrinth, The Nexus does not orbit a star like planets do. "How is time tracked then", you ask?
- There are 100 seconds in a minute.
- There are 100 minutes in an hour.
- There are 10 hours of 'lit', 10 hours of 'murk'.
- 20 hours constitute a 'cycle'.
- 10 cycles are a week.
- 4 weeks are a month.
- Finally, ten months form a full year.
The Consortia
Labyrinth, The Nexus has five great guilds, known as "Consortia". The Consortia have influence within The Maze itself and within the wider Multiverse. There are, of course, numerous other guilds, cults, clubs, sects, and factions within the city, but only The Consortia are involved in the laws and policies of The Maze. Each of The Consortia believes in a particular philosophy, and looks for the meaning of life, the path to power, or the Artful of the planes. In short, they all seek truth.
Ranks of the Consortia
The five Consortia have four basic ranks, although some specializations exist.
- Initiated —the lowest rank. These bodies are considered the green, wide-eyed tyros of their guild's philosophy and methods.
- Proteus —the "middle" rank. These bodies are the "sergeants" of the consortia and understand their guild's philosophy and methods well.
- Surrogate —direct representatives of the Luminary of their consortia. These ichors are the "captains" of the consortia and are canny on their guild's philosophy and methods.
- Luminary —Leaders of their guild. These ichors are the "marshals" of the consortia and guide their guild's philosophy and methods. Some sods would argue they have "too much power" within Labyrinth.
Bellicose Seraphim
Tolerate not the fiend among us!
Also Known As Holies, Angel Guvs (derogatory)
Luminary The Synod (Both ♂ & ♀ Celestials/Champion, Cleric, Oracle/Good)
Headquarters Cantonment
Recommended Class Any; but Holies champions, clerics, and oracles have special affinity with the Upper Planes
Recommended Alignment Any good, or Lawful Neutral
Recommended Deities Frija of the Seiđr, Iomadae, Sun Wukong, Tlāloc, Empyreal Lords
How to join Join as a non-affiliated levy, survive your first mission, and pass through the reformatory.
Philosophy Can anyone tolerate that we do not even share equally with the fiends the inhabited multiverse? They have made the Lower Planes their homeland. They have also forcibly held dozens of outposts in the Astral Plane and The Transitive Planes, for centuries. There remains the Upper Planes! Two of the supposed 'Upper Planes', Axis and The Maelstrom, belong not to us, but simply to law or chaos. Can anyone truly call Elysium 'good'? What with its wild decadence, unlawful nature, and the vulgarity of its inhabits. With no laws to prevent wrongdoing, what is stopping all of Elysium from sliding into Limbo?
Singsong The Bellicose Seraphim recently divided their Luminary from one ichor into a council of celestials known as The Synod. An agathion, an archon, and an azata hold the three chairs as speakers and act as generals on the battlefield. The current speakers are Spahbod Tabra (♀ Vulpinal/Oracle [Tempest Mystery]/NG), Polemarchos Barakiel (♂ Legion Archon/Champion [of Arqueros]/LG), and Pontifex Amnayel (♀ Bralani/Cleric [of Cernunnos]/CG). Polemarchos Barakiel is pushing for war with The Cult of Razorvine, but the other speakers refuse . . . so far!
The Cult of Razorvine
Do you want to make a deal?!
Also Known As Pacters, Yng Terk Fiends (derogatory)
Luminary Overlord Lysimachus (♂ Cambion/Summoner/NE)
Headquarters Cabal Macabre
Recommended Class Any; but witches, sorcerers, & summoners must have affinity with Lower Planes
Recommended Alignment Any evil, or Lawful Neutral
Recommended Deities Asmodeus, The Four Horsemen, Lamashtu, Archdevils, Demon Lords, Qlippoth Lords, Queens of the Night
How to join Form a pact with a minor fiend.
Philosophy The Cult of Razorvine is named after the rare razorvine plant, a malignant herb of the Lower Planes that corrupts wherever it grows. The guild is a combination religion, credit-lending agency, and crime syndicate. An ostentatious hierarchy of priests, enforcers, and iniquitous councilors rules over a congregation of guilt-bound loyalists, indebted souls, and indentured servants —split into three major sects, one for each Lower Plane. (There might be numerous minor sects. But that's tief?) Should a body be in debt to the Pacters, that sod must work their debt beyond death. Most Labyrinthians see The Cult of Razorvine as a corrupt organization, but many are attracted by promises of power, prestige, and longevity.
Singsong Whether The Cult of Razorvine favors Abbadon, The Abbys, or Hell goes in cycles. But under Overlord Lysimachus, the Abaddon Sect are in a tenuous majority. This has the Abyssal Sect carked, considering Lysimachus' demonic heritage. The Hellish Sect pretends it's all garboil.
Hunter-Guardians
The Natural exists everywhere in the Great Beyond. Cherish it!
Also Known As Wylders, Plant Flutes (derogatory)
Luminary Ise Ziodolen (♀ Centaur/Druid/CN)
Headquarters The Grand Arboretum
Recommended Class Barbarian, ranger; spellcaster classes or archetypes with Primal spell slots; Beastmaster
Recommended Alignment Any neutral
Recommended Deities Bastet, Cyth-V'sug, The Golden Ram, Green Faith, Animism
How to join Show love of nature or animals.
Philosophy It has been said that the elemental planes provide the basic blocks from which the multiverse is built. That's true up to a point. But those building blocks are merely that. They could provide, and do provide, the substances around us; the air, the stones and so on. But they cannot provide life. And ultimately that's the most important feature of the multiverse. Not that it exists, because its existence would be meaningless without living creatures in it to appreciate it. So life is the single most important feature of the multiverse.
Singsong The creation of a cult called "Vile Hunt" has given the Wylders a direct enemy for the first time, and they have not responded well under the pressure. Of late, the Vile Hunt has been involved in a plot by some worshippers of a little-known Prime deity, The Beastlord, to free the Power from his prison in Abbadon.
The Sihedron
In arcanum, therein lies veracity of the Great Beyond!
Also Known As Theurgists, Witchy Tulks (derogatory)
Luminary Agrippa (♂ Smoke/Wizard [Runelord]/LE)
Headquarters The Sihedron Horologe
Recommended Classes Any Arcane/Occult spellcaster class or "Magical" archetype —especially Eldritch Trickster, Golem Grafter, & Soulforger; most especially Runelord
Recommended Alignment Any lawful, or True Neutral
Recommended Deities Lissala, Cyrridven, Eloritu, Nyarlathotep, Thoth
How to join Show magical aptitude; have human ancestry (heritage can differ).
Philosophy When Emperor Xin of Thassilon turned his attention to research, his remaining assistant, Onesiphorus, mourned. Onesiphorus knew that Xin was now mad, and fled. But Onesiphorus refused to let Xin's vision of mastering magic built upon Azlanti virtues of rule. He researched for days, until he devised a ritual of Plane Shift to a place where neither Xin nor the Runelords of Thassilon would seek him —and found himself in Labyrinth, The Nexus.
Singsong It is said that a sod was exiled from The Sihedron for claiming that divine magic was unlike Sin Magic. "Surely," mutter the Runelords, "Even the divine falls in line with Lissala's teachings and the sin magic that originated out of Onesiphorus' teachings. How can it be that the divine is not merely another favor of the arcane?!" This has the priests, even Lissala's own, all agog.
Soul's Eye
Strength is in imagination of the soul!
Also Known As Soulmen, Faithless (derogatory)
Luminary Yerzenva (♀ Fetchling/Oracle [Cosmos Mystery]/LN)
Headquarters Perfidious Fane
Recommended Classes Any, except Cleric or Champion; but a Soul's Eye Oracle/Witch must gain powers from intrinsic forces (not a deity)
Recommended Alignment Any
Recommended Deities The Allgod, or Atheism
How to join Submit a true prediction or vision.
Philosophy If you were to ask most planars about the Powers, they would might claim that they are almighty beings, possibly beyond the ken of any mortal, capable of changing the very fabric of existence on a whim. Members of the Soul‘s Eye view things a little differently. As the Soulmen and -women see things, the gods are frauds, unworthy of worship, no matter how powerful they may be. While possessing formidable might, the Powers are not omniscient, omnipresent progenitors of the multiverse —they are beings that make mistakes, and they can be killed.
Singsong A few of the Soulmen choose to revere —but never worship —a concept they call The Allgod, the true originator of All Existence and imaginative psyche behind The Allgod's Weapon. To these Soulmen, The Allgod was never a deity, but remains the First Imaginer and the source of Truth in the Multiverse!
and seek the external opias responsible.
Other Significant Associations
The Shining Lights
These 'incorruptible' guardsman serve the The Pale Influences first and foremost and the city second. Responsible for day-to-day enforcement of the rules of The Pale Influences, the Shining Lights are the few who refer to Labyrinth's mysterious rulers by name without fear. Their officers often come from a hereditary group of unofficial 'nobles' within The Maze, boasting several generations of men or women blessed by The Pale Influences for their service. Some say, to join the Shining Lights, a body must stare into the heart of The Allgod's Weapon without flinching. Other call them 'Dim Lights', due to their propensity to only enforce crime in areas where it would interrupt trade, the neutrality of the city within the Great Beyond, or allow a deity to walk within the city.
Temple of Internecine Wedlock
Vault Sanctum
Hellknights
The Ouroboros Inn
The Ouroboros Inn is not your typical inn. This inn has a extraplanar energy flowing through the building as planar portals open and close over a pit that's more than 100 feet deep. Looking down into the pit is inky blackness, yet instead of feeling cold, you can feel heat rising out of the pit. If you can find a key to the portals in the inn, you can travel anywhere in the planes. But finding a key can be tricky, as you don't always know what the key is!
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