The Abyss is a major antagonist in Rivals of Aether. The group is a mysterious collection of dark and twisted forces, notably shadowy imposters of the playable characters, though just as they themselves are mysterious, so are their true goals.
The group was introduced alongside the game's story mode on March 28th, 2017.
Biography[]
Little is known for certain about the Abyss, even its actual name, as it's been referred to by many different titles. The creatures of the Abyss seemingly originate from the Endless Abyss located within the Aethereal Gates located in a vast crater to the west.
The Abyss first makes its presence known when Maypul senses something underground corrupting the Aetherian Forest, which soon makes itself known as mysterious purple shadows that corrupt and twist anything they touch. Maypul believes the source of this corruption lies beyond the forest and Rock Wall, writing a letter detailing her discoveries on the shadows and handing it to her sister, Mayreed, to give to other forest dwellers to help fight the shadows, before Maypul leaves herself, journeying for months across the continent seeking the source of the shadows.
Meanwhile, Kragg, one of the Wall Runners, comes across a breach in the Rock Wall. Fearing something may have gotten into the forest, he quickly steps off the wall and begins repairing it as fast as he can, only to be interrupted by a shadowy version of Maypul, who attacks him. Kragg defends himself and fights back, with residents of the forest only seeing Kragg attacking one of their own, swear vengeance on him. Kragg defeats the shadow, and soon after, Mayreed arrives, handing him Maypul's letter and explaining to him and the still present onlookers how the shadow couldn't have been Maypul, as she left months ago in search of the shadow's source. Mayreed leaves Maypul's plant companion, Lily, with Kragg, as he intends to find the source as well to keep the forest and wall safe, as soon as he finishes repairing wall.
In the Fire Empire, after a successful ploy to set himself up as the new emperor, Loxodont, is about to be crowned, when a shadowy version of Orcane suddenly appears and steals The Flame Imperium before jumping into a puddle and disappearing. Zetterburn is ordered to follow the shadow and retrieve the flame, heading to Orcane's home of Merchant Port, setting everything ablaze as he searches for his target. Zetterburn finds the shadow and defeats it, but filled with doubt, instead of returning home, Zetterburn instead investigates a purple glow and large plume of smoke in the distance.
Around the same time, the real Orcane had been tasked with infiltrating the Air Armada on behalf of the Water Trade Company. Inside he witnessed a strange deal between the Air Armada's commander and a mysterious shadowy figure. After fighting Wrastor and recovering the WTC's goods, Orcane returns home to find Merchant Port set ablaze. After putting out the flames and learning what happened, Orcane tracks Zetterburn's scent, following it to the west.
Meanwhile, Forsburn, Zetterburn's framed and exiled brother, learns of his sibling's disappearance and returns to the Fire Capital to search for him. Instead of finding Zetterburn, Forsburn finds a shadowy imposter of Zetterburn. Forsburn uses his new smoke abilities to defeat the imposter, soon noticing the Smoke Clan is under attack by the Fire Army, causing him to quickly return to assist his friends. Forsburn encounters Maypul, believing her to be one of the attackers, while Maypul witnesses Forsburn's smoke abilities and believes him to be related with the purple shadows in the forest, leading to the two of them fighting. Though the battle is cut short when Maypul demands to know Forsburn's connection to the purple shadows, which causes Forsburn to be taken aback, as he explains his own encounter with the the purple shadows, as well as the disappearance of his brother. The two decide to head off together in search of the shadows' real source.
Zetterburn arrives at a vast canyon near the sea, followed shortly my Forsburn and Maypul, Zetterburn avoiding his brother's eyes. Orcane arrives soon after, followed shortly by Kragg and subsequently Wrastor. As many in the group prepare to fight each other over past issues, the ground shakes as the sea pulses purple and a vast stone platform rises from the depths of the sea. This is the Aethereal Gate. Believing this to be the source of the purple shadows, the group puts aside their differences and battle the creatures.
The group emerges victorious, with their rivalries a thing of the past, instead considering each other allies against any future threats to Aether.
However, sadly the rivals would soon be forgotten to time, with them all seemingly disappearing, though fortunately, the Abyss would seemingly disappear as well.
Members[]
- Gatekeepers - Large shadowy eyes that appear to guard the Aethereal Gate and the Endless Abyss within. They seem to be capable of generating Shadow Imposters themselves.
- Shadow Imposters - Dark purple clones of the various rivals that seemingly possess all the power of the originals. They appear to do most of the Abyss' work both in and out of the Endless Abyss, seemingly being used strategically to cause different groups and factions to attack each other and lead to a war that encompasses all of Aether.
Gallery[]
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 Villains
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Abyss | Air Armada | Loxodont | Sylvanos | ||