Ashin Varanin
Professional Enabler
Name: Warlock’s Gate
Image Source: Screencap from No Man’s Sky: an alien monolith.
Classification: Stone monument
Location: Dathomir, at the former location of the Netherworld rift.
Affiliation: The Witches of Dathomir and the Mandalorians.
Description: Warlock’s Gate is a stone slab four metres tall, covered in Dathomiri runes. The runes tell the story of the Witches who vanished during the Second Akala Crisis, some never to return. The slab stands in a grassy field. Touch the east side and be transported into Dathomir’s spirit plane. Touch the west side and be transported into Sinner’s Rue. In all three planes, Warlock’s Gate radiates an aura of inconsolable grief. Camps of Dathomiri witches can be found nearby, pilgrims preparing to search for loved ones lost.
History: Not so many years ago, a significant fraction of the galaxy’s population disappeared into the Netherworld overnight. This event came to be known as the Second Akala Crisis, the Netherworld Crisis, or the Vanishing. Though many of the lost reappeared, the intervening time filled the galaxy with confusion and fear. During the Crisis, some found their way into or out of the Netherworld via rifts on various worlds. One such world was Dathomir.
The Dathomir phenomenon, known as the Rift of Despair, was centered around both a location and a person: a grassy field, and the Mandalorian Darksider known as [member="Arumi Zy"]. The Rift of Despair led to a Netherworld location known as Sinner’s Despair or Sinner’s Rue, a personalized and torturous oblivion. Those who passed through the Rift of Despair in either direction felt overwhelming grief, and found themselves compelled to explain their sorrow to the first person they encountered. With the conclusion of the crisis and the departure of Arumi Zy, the rift sealed, and the confessional compulsion faded. The story would have ended, if not for Dathomir’s unique heritage.
Going back for more than a millennium, the core tenet of the Nightsister arts has been the existence of a spirit plane, parallel with the known universe and home to primal beings or forces. Certain rites allowed Nightsisters to exist halfway between reality and the spirit plane, becoming invisible. Some time after the end of the Second Akala Crisis sealed the Rift of Despair, two Dathomiri Elders experimented with the boundaries between life and death. The Witchmasters, a Dathomiri sovereigntist group led by [member="Ember Rekali"] and [member="Isley Verd"], journeyed to the planet Malrev IV. At the half-buried fortress of the Dark Underlord, their circle of Witches -- including [member="Ostanes"], [member="Kytarra Hawk"] and others -- tested a ritual that brought them into the Netherworld and back again.
This ritual would play a critical role in Ember Rekali’s future plans. Sensing his coming death, he tore open the Rift of Despair temporarily and stepped through. With effort, he overcame Sinner’s Rue and found the means to travel through the many climes and circumstances of the Netherworld in search of a final resting place. He found it in the Field of Blades, where the spirits of Dark Jedi and Sith Lords fight each other forever. Having lost most of his family to the Sith, Ember decided that an eternity of killing Sith would be a satisfactory end.
After his return to the real universe via the rift on Corellia, Ember journeyed to Dathomir. He raised a stone monument and carved it with Dathomiri runes, then used it as a focus to open the Rift of Despair permanently, while tapping into Dathomir’s spirit plane. He gave the monument no name: the term ‘Warlock’s Gate’ was coined by others who knew part of the story.
The east and west sides of the slab are worked with runes. To touch the east side is to be transported into Dathomir’s spirit plane. To touch the west side is to step into Sinner’s Rue. Identical monuments exist in both places, permitting a return. To pass from Sinner’s Rue into other portions of the Netherworld, however, requires both skill and surpassing determination, as does survival in the Dathomiri spirit plane. Nevertheless, to the grieving few that make their final camp around Warlock's Gate, the transition signifies a hope of finding those they've lost.
Intent: To let people visit the really cool locations that were created for the Netherworld event. Also, to let Dathomiri Witches worry about whether to risk stepping into their spirit world.
Links:
- Out Of This World (15 posts) - The Witchmasters create the ritual that opens the gates of the Netherworld.
- Hellboundhttp://starwarsrp.net/topic/89043-hellbound/ (22 posts) - Ember Rekali walks through the Netherworld and creates Warlock’s Gate.
