The Abyss Reveals – as told by Drezkar, Priest of Ruzhraak

The boat rocked beneath my feet, the chill of the ocean air weaving through the ash on my skin. The talisman of my clan—a simple iron disk marked with a mountain bear—hung heavy on my chest. I gripped it tightly, my anchor against the unknown. The priests had blessed me, their chants stirring the fire of resolve within me, but they could not answer the question that filled my mind: Who would claim me? What path awaited me in the depths?

The abyss held the answer that no mortal could provide. Resolve anchored me, though uncertainty lingered like a shadow before battle.

At the elder mariner’s signal, I stepped to the edge of the boat. The others watched silently as I took the plunge. The water’s embrace was cold and merciless, stripping the breath from my lungs and sending a searing chill through my body. The talisman dragged me downward, into the heart of the abyss.

Above, the world disappeared. Silence surrounded me, vast and alive, until even my thoughts seemed to dissipate into the emptiness. I felt the weight of the gods’ eyes upon me, but whether they watched with approval or indifference, I did not know. Panic tightened in my chest as my lungs ached for air. I held the talisman tighter, its edges cutting into my palm. Endure, I whispered to myself, the mantra barely forming in my mind.

Then, the abyss stirred.

A presence, immense and ancient, seemed to envelop me. The water thickened, the silence deepened, and I felt the weight of something vast pressing against my soul. A shadow loomed in the darkness, its form indistinct but undeniably alive. For a fleeting moment, I believed Karmorr had come to claim me for the Drowned Legion. But as the shape moved closer, I saw it clearly—an infernal beast wreathed in shifting fire, its form ever-changing, its edges flickering like embers on the wind.

The creature circled me, its movements a violent dance of dissolution and rebirth. It studied me, not as prey, but as something to be tested. There was no voice, no command—only the crackling roar of consuming flame and the unspoken promise of devastation. Then, it lunged, pressing its blazing form against my chest, and I felt the searing heat of chaos flood through me. My lungs did not fill with air, but with the force of destruction itself, and my fear burned away into something raw—something alive. I did not understand what it meant, but I knew this encounter would mark me forever.

As quickly as it appeared, the entity dissolved into the abyss, leaving only a lingering ember within my soul. The currents shifted, carrying me upward, steady and unrelenting. The surface broke with a rush of sound and firelight, and strong hands pulled me back into the boat. The elder mariner looked at me, his gaze heavy with meaning.

“The abyss has spoken,” he said simply.

It was not until we returned to the Sacred Shores that the truth of my path was revealed. The priests gathered around me, their chants rising in a crescendo as they anointed me with sacred oils. Only then did they speak: Ruzhraak, The Scorching Doom, had claimed me. The revelation struck like lightning—unexpected, but undeniable. I knelt in the sand, the weight of the moment overwhelming. Tears blurred my vision as I realized that I had entered the abyss seeking purpose, and it had found me.

Even now, I cannot say I chose Ruzhraak. Her will was clear long before I understood my place in it. The gods do not demand our faith to prove their worth—they guide us toward the truth of who we are. And I, like the mountain bear that claimed me, will endure. For my homeland. For my clan. For the strength of Gharnakthul.