[hider=Unknown Human, 1537 BC]

In my vision, I found myself adrift in the cosmos. While the night sky always looked so peaceful and serene, I could now clearly witness a war that dwarfed those of men. I saw horrid dragons, a living mass of flame that leeched life, a huge mutilated man that carried the wind where it walked, a worm that stretched from the Earth to the Moon, this yellow thing that vaguely resembled a gigantic screeching head, and other things that had forms beyond what I could comprehend. 

The one thing that grasped my attention above all else was something that consumed existence itself. A vague mass of shadows darker than darkness, it’s formed writhed and shifted constantly and made it difficult to focus on. Where it had tread was much more noticeable, or perhaps less. It left this inexistence…. This hole in creation which threatened to swallow everything near it like a ravenous wolf, nothing could escape it, even light was swallowed by the void. And I wept. I cried out “Who could stand against such things? What hope does man have in the face of such destruction?”

Then a voice from behind me announced loudly, “Worry not, child of the tribe of Olainn. The gods have seen the destruction, they have heard your cries.” 

I saw a figure who shined with such light I had to turn away. Beside him were beings, some I recognized but many that I did not. Somehow, I recognized them as the gods of my people, and the gods of others. Then the figure spoke again. “Look, and see the order the gods have brought to creation!” I looked around and saw the creatures that once frightened me were now in cages. Some of gold, some of Earth, some of other realms, some of things I did not recognize. 

I looked for The Thing which Should Not Be and found it buried deep in the darkest cavern of the Earth, even in such absence of light it’s form was still darker than it’s surroundings. But I could see the chains that bound it were getting rusty, were aging. “Oh What are we to do!” I cried out. “The chains are weakening, it will soon escape!” 

“Fear not! For while it took the might of the gods to cast it down, Man can keep it imprisoned. Record what you have seen, and what I will tell you. I will teach you the rituals required to keep The Haunter of the Red Abyss shackled to the Earth. Share what you will learn with your people, maintain them always, and the beast will never break from it’s confines.”
[/hider]

Randolph’s vision opened to a placid sea of emptiness, darkness surrounded him. There were no sources of light, no markers from which he can discern anything beyond vague shapes and yet he intrinsically knew where he was. A place whispered in thoughts, seen in dreams, neither of which were his own. It has always been revealed only in glimpses previously however, fractured images and thoughts which lingered in the mind but refused to hold attention. This time was unusual, it was clear and vivid. 

He had little time to dwell on it as a void emerged from the darkness. A writhing, shifting shapeless mass that grew from the darkness, seeming to absorb it into its own mass. Clumps of the thing detached in one place and reformed in another, constantly shifting its arrangement. Randolph felt like he said be afraid, at this thing that he did not understand. What was it? What does it want? Does it even think? Randolph, however, felt at ease. It seemed to comfort him, even as the thing darker than darkness enveloped him. Even as Randolph breathed in the thing.

Randolph felt a pressure in his chest as he joined the mass. Growing in intensity but not pain. Then it spoke to him. Not with words to be heard but images to be seen, but not by his eyes but by his thoughts. It told him many things, too many things, and too fast. He could not decipher the information as fast as he received it, but he got what he needed. What it needed him to know. He knew what it wants him to do.

[hr]

Randolph woke with a start, and was immediately overloaded by the light. [color=blueviolet]”Uth kth’ai thruik kath!”[/color] Randolph yelled out in Ghoul, as he put one paw to cover his eyes. Used to darkness, lit enviroments is not something Randolph likes to wake up to, it blinded his vision and was physically painful to be exposed to when he did not have time to adjust. 

Randolph rolled on the ground for a moment, in agony, but also trying to recall what happened prior. He vaguely recalls blood. The rendering of flesh, the ecstasy of bloodlust, the liberating feeling of being wild and free after being contained for so long. He remembers. Others, right there were…. Acquaintances? Friends? He was not sure, he could not think in this environment. He needed to go somewhere darker to let his vision adjust.

Randolph barreled away from the others. Even without sight he had other senses with which to navigate. He could smell the others, each with their own scent. His ears could locate them better however, detecting their breathing, their hearts beating. He could also faintly detect the environment. The vibrations given off by him and others could be felt by him, objects absorbed the vibration while open space allowed it to travel almost freely. With this sense he can sort of map the area near him as long as they were touching each other. He traveled back to a burrow, to darkness, or at least dim light. There he could reorient himself, and rejoin the others later. But for now he needed to reflect on what he learned in solitude, and how to move forward with his task. Randolph will require the aid of others, but he will need to be careful with how much he reveals as potential allies can also be potential foes...