The Primal Contradiction
Just as ignorance is reborn in a mind prone to superstition, so a tormented mind gives birth to blasphemous thoughts.
Contradiction lies at the heart of all terror. This age-old truth, inscribed in one of the chambers of the underground labyrinth of Yor–Asul, has not lost any of its relevance, even now, in the age of reason triumphant. And who could grasp it better than Savants, forever shuddering at the thought that their scientific canons might contradict themselves?
But how should contradiction be understood, when it can take so many different shapes and forms? Contradiction is a symbolic original sin, the first taint radiating onto our reality and the foremother of the great unholy trinity – Anomalies, Heralds and Aberrations.
This foul triad strikes dread into the hearts of even the bravest Savants. It is total negation, fundamentally unclean and aimed at everything we hold dear – civilisation, culture and social norms. All these vile forces reveal to us the dark side of the cosmos, with its twisted laws, godless worlds and their monstrous inhabitants.
Have these nightmares always been with us, and only now have we gained the tools to study them? Or did they recently wake from a long slumber, drawn by some strange turn of events?
These questions must remain unanswered.
Terror
The Unholy Trinity
-
Anomalies
An Anomaly is a disease of matter. What is more, a contagious one. It spreads. Everything within its reach slips out of coherent existence.
An Anomaly is contradiction incarnate: a singularity that has broken into our world and tries to remake it in its own hideous likeness. An Anomaly is an inexplicable phenomenon that cracks the structure of our world.
An Anomaly is the matrix of an alien reality – a reality defiled through and through, filled with matter that is warped or becoming warped. It gathers energies opposed to its own nature and then transforms the substance within it into new, repulsive constructs.
An Anomaly is the blind midwife of new, foul life, which it brings into our world in the form of Aberrations.
-
Aberrations
Aberrations are creatures born of Anomalies – this is how the monstrosities of every kind that defile our reality, and that Savants eliminate, are most often defined.
An Aberration is a threat, a violation of the laws of our reality, and its very presence opens the door to further distortions.
An Aberration is also a source of pathogens and the seed of further infections. What exactly drives a given creature does not matter. Its inner logic – or the lack of it – is irrelevant to Savants.
An Aberration is a monster. True, some creatures may sometimes behave rationally, plan their actions, strike pre-emptively, use cunning tactics or try to deceive people through mimicry, but they are still monsters.
-
Heralds
Heralds serve as the generals of the anomalies, the apostles and architects of a new dominion. They are marked by extraordinary intelligence and by a knowledge of how reality works on a level beyond human understanding.
Every Herald has a unique battle strategy, which it pursues ruthlessly and relentlessly. It is impossible to tell whether their behaviour is rational in human terms, or whether they attune themselves to the human nature they try to manipulate. The fact remains, however, that over the years many adepts have been led astray by their whispers and have served them unknowingly.
In a clash with this enemy, Savants must stay vigilant and ready to adapt again at any moment. Every encounter with Heralds is a risk, but also a chance to obtain valuable artefacts or rare ingredients.