Genesis of the Worm King

God

This odyssey, my fellow observer, takes place on the so called infinite (in reality, finite but vast, yet the primitive bipedal creatures that live here know no else) plane of Aswan, in the 127th dimension. It's a harsh, desert world, rife with colossal dust storms and the occasional tornado, probably because it's one of the closest Archworlds to the Void. Indeed, it even pierces the Void in it's center with what can only be described as a never-ending pit, which the locals believe will eventually swallow the entire world. Although they're certainly right in a sense  - the Void will engulf the Archworlds at the end of time - they have no understanding of the Void and it's terrors. It is this ignorance that causes the Armageddon faced by the people of Aswan. See, the Void is an infinite, all-encompassing place of chaos. It breeds the worst things imaginable - living manifestations of evil itself - and the only logical thing for living matter to do, when encountering the Void, is run. Run until you can't run anymore, until your legs buckle and you succumb to exhaustion. Nobody has any chance against a manifestation of the Void. The way it combines all the worst aspects of reality into one crawling, wretched being is incredible, in a fearful sense. If the people of Aswan had the perspective I do they would've left long ago, flocking to another plane or even another dimension, where the Void is yet to clutch in it's immaterial, invisible claws. Yet they lack it. They're bound by the chains of basic mortality - although they have made cities of great magnitude, colossal structures of compacted sand and rock, they are yet to master agriculture. Certainly, they have challenges in this regard, as there's very little fertile land, due to it's propinquity to the Void. Other beings that have mastered air and inter-dimensional travel always skip over Aswan for that reason - they've got nothing of worth, why would one trade with a being that has nothing?

However, this widely held view is a misguided one. Due to the primitive nature of their existences, with no electricity, no automation, not even irrigation, the people of Aswan have steadied themselves for battle like no other peoples. As their lack of perspective often lends itself to war, they're battle conditioned like no other. Although they're restricted to pre-ancient weaponry - swords made of metal and bows of timber and string no less - they're unparalleled in hardiness and physical strength. If they were only as technologically advanced as other Archworlds, they may even dominate. They certain have the genetic makeup to do it. If only they didn't treat those who can access the Necrosphere as spiritual advisers and those who manifest it as people to kill, they would be a lot more advanced then they currently are as a species. In essence, their potential is frustratingly massive and the fact that the perils manifesting in that pit, dubbed by the people as "Tartarus",  will destroy them is an unparalleled annoyance. I wish I could interfere. Hell, the manifestation that currently existentially threatens Aswan is minor at best, in an inter-dimensional sense. Due to the fact that the Void requires physical, animus matter to manifest itself in, which Aswan on the whole lacks, this manifestation was one of Aswan's prior people.

Khufu, which was his name prior to his possession by the Void, was a deserter of a battle between two cities on Aswan. After his realization that there was no way for him to return back to his family, he walked through the desert a while, getting increasingly famished and dehydrated. At a point of near death, he encountered Tartarus and stared deep into it. Granted, due to the limitations on the eyes of Aswan's people (dust storms rend them protected but of limited functionality in their evolution), he couldn't stare far, just enough for the abyss to wrap itself around him. Here, on the edge of order, Khufu stayed for a long time, contemplating and reflecting on the prior events of his life (which were entirely typical of a man of Aswan). Eventually, as the Void burrowed deeper, he decided to throw himself into the pit. Indeed, due to it's endlessness, he actually died of dehydration, however as soon as hit feet left the sand his fate was sealed. Upon the point of his demise, the Void stripped away all his skin, flesh and muscle, leaving only bone and brain tissue. The flesh stripped away was fashioned into a great staff, the individual molecules and proteins restructured to tap into the Necrosphere, granting the Void, by the proxy of Khufu, the ability to control all simple-minded creatures across Aswan. Through Khufu, which by virtue of the time he took deciding to throw himself into the pit made his capability to the Void vastly limited, the actions of all rats, camels, horses and crucially Ubiverms became externally controlled. 

What is an Ubiverm, I hear you, my dear observer, ask? It's a species of animal specific to Aswan. Due to the sand-based geology of the area, the common worm evolved to great sized proportions. Able to subsist on sand, these creatures evolved great, sharp teeth and talons to effectively move through it's food. To the people of Aswan, Ubiverms remained much a mystery. As they rarely went to the surface, for they cannot see, sightings of Ubiverms became an aspect of local mythology. Indeed, there were certain parts of Aswan society that worshiped these creatures as Gods, with statues of man intertwined with Ubiverm, built out of compacted sand, present in every Aswan city. There's a certain irony to this, as now that they're under the void's control I highly doubt they'll be worshiped for much longer.

However, without further ado, I only think it right that now you know the context by which the people of Aswan live to introduce you to the person who is about to go on an incredible odyssey. Raven, as he has been named, is but a sixteen year old boy living in an Aswan city. Currently, he works for a blacksmith, however I think he has an incredibly interesting odyssey to complete. The purpose that fate has prescribed him will take him far past what any Aswan man has gone before and I think it time you observe Raven, and Aswan, for yourself.