Abyss Piranoths Steps

In the Dawn Era, the worlds of this multi-system were collectively called Piranoths Steps. They were named for the primordial creationists who built them. Piranoth's "first step", created from the energies and stuff of Chaos, is known as the Step of Foundation (1 DE). The making of the worlds that followed were rushed, or either Piranoth did not fully understand Creation, because they would fall to a corruption. Slowly they were polluted by the Threads of Damnation, leading to a great rebellion between the primordials and those chaos aberrations that had fallen to evil and destructive ways. Numbering in the hundreds of thousands, tainted with a new form of energy, they became known as the demons. This led to a thousand year war called the Abyssal Release (7777 DE - 8777 DE). At the time, the primordials waged a great war across many worlds and systems. This Creation War, coupled with the one with the demons would end up leaving Piranoths Steps in the hands of the demons and their fell leaders, the demon lords.

When the gods defeated the primordials in the Creation War, Piranoth was so angry that he totally abandoned Piranoths Steps to the demons. Hastily departing, he left many primordials relics to be found by the realm's new masters. The most dangerous of these were rift-making devices called null mines. Like the primordials, the demons would use these to invade the Quara'tun System, starting the Demon Spawn War (8972 GE - 9493 GE).

On worlds of the Mortal Systems, Piranoths Steps is commonly called the Abyss. It is a realm of many systems and worlds. Two of the most well-known demon lords of the Abyss are Demogorgon and Orcus.

When the Abyss was created in the deepest reaches of Chaos, an evil corrupted some of the mighty primordials. Demogorgon, Baphomet, and Orcus were a few of that became infused with chaos and evil, a demoniac energy that reshaped them into the likeness of pure destructive evil. They became the demon lords, masters of entire abyssal worlds.

When we defeated the primordials, we opened the way for the demons.

- Naraz-Nâru, from a mithril plaque at Ginbar-Karud - "One Darkness Unto Another"

In the Demon Spawn War, the world of Bal-Kriav saw much conflict. After the demons were driven back to their abyssal homes, a cleanup ensued, removing any lingering elements or things thought too dangerous for the peoples of the Mortal Systems. Not all was found. In the Lith-Crillion Era, the demon empire Varelay ruled Ma'Ohari for more than a millennia. It was formed from a unit that escaped the Covenant cleanup parties. There are also demon relics scattered across the land, most hidden away or in pieces. Of the latter, the most well-known is Ladneg, once a world hopping device, it lies scattered across a great swamp.

In more recent times, there have been several rifts opened between Bal-Kriav and abyssal worlds. In the Black Tide War (1465 - 1504), Katrana, one of the leaders of the First Dead Council, opened the inter-system rift Abyssal Funnel. After goodly forces secured the Sylvan Kingdoms, a number of powerful mages, a druid, and the god Arcana worked together to close it.

Another gateway to the Abyss lies deep in Turgon. In the Phael-Tetramord War, elves sought demon aid against the Tetramord. One of the rifts they opened became permanent, opening a bridge to a world under Demogorgon's control. This gateway, the Ungorth Reddik Road, became an invasion route for Demogorgon's armies.