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From the teachings of Falre, |
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Q: Should we not then seek to destroy Bukrai?
Q: If Bukrai is indeed contained, why is it a threat at all?
Q: Does such a place really exist?
Q: You say that Bukrai is
nothingness. How, then, can it think and feel?
Q: If Bukrai has no personality, why does it appear so evil?
A: In all things there is paradox. So too it is with Kelestia. When all was made, or I should say "envisioned" by the One, all possibilities were realized. One of these possibilities was Non-Being itself. How can non existence itself exist, you ask? For is not non-existence nothing? And can nothing be a thing at all? Ah, the composure of reality is sometimes confusing, and I can sympathize with your confusion. I can only tell you this: That it is a thing, in a way. A mere Illusion, perhaps, within the Great Dream of the One, but seemingly a reality to us. I say to you that Bukrai is that very thing; One of the First Ones, a Greater God! From the beginning, Bukrai sought to undo all. To first disrupt the harmony of the All, and then still the Great Dream. It waged war upon the other First Ones, the great primal forces, and was a most formidable foe indeed. So it came to look as if Bukrai might succeed, and the First Ones stopped warring with each other and banded together to fight the greater foe, and with all of their combined energies, great force and eldritch power bound Bukrai into a prison from which it could not escape. This they placed upon a barren, lifeless plane, so that none would touch it.
And so it sat, safe, for countless aeons until Morgath, in desperation, entered upon the barren plane and did grasp the orb which was Bukrai's prison. A dark day that was for all of us, for true fear had once again entered the worlds. Morgath did not know the exact nature of that which he held in his hands, only that it gave him the power to destroy his enemies, and this power he used immediately. Before Morgath left the barren plane, Siem came to him and offered him the blessed gift of forgetfulness if he would only replace the orb where he found it. The Dark One scourned the DreamKing, claiming that he only wanted the orb for himself. With this Siem took leave and proclaimed, " Now is heralded the end, for as he grows, shall grow the shadow and all the strength of man and beast andgod may not prevail. "
And so, aeons have sinced passed, and Morgath has grown ever stronger in the Shadow.
Q: Should we not then seek to destroy Bukrai?
A: Ha! Wouldst thou seek to still the flowing of the waters or the passage of time? Puzzled again, are you? Allow me to explain. Remember that it was the combined energies and eldritch powers of the First Ones which imprisoned Bukrai. It is this imprisonment which prevents Bukrai from unbridled destruction and the dissolution of the Great Dream. Remember also the form of that prison, an orb that cannot be viewed. That orb is not made of any substance in Kelestia, for none could hold back the void that is Bukrai. Rather, it is merely the shape that Bukrai has been forced into. You see, all of the other Great Primal Forces are working to contain Bukrai at all times, and from all directions at once. Thus, its form is that of a sphere.
However, Bukrai is indeed strong, and its emanations radiate from it still. Indeed, they permeate the very fabric of Kelestia. This is not altogether ill for us though, for it facilitates the process that is Becoming, and provides the foundations of what we call Space and Time. The emanations of Bukrai are indeed integral to those dimensions of reality. It is change incarnate; from that which is, into that which is not. Because of Bukrai, we change, grow old and die; cease to be one thing and are free to become another. Things are here and not there, there and not here. Do you see now?
Unbridled, Bukrai attempts to halt the Great Dream, oblivious of its own relation to it. There could be no Great Dream without it. Ironically, Bukrai seeks its own destruction, for Nothingness can exist only within the realms of Space and Time, which Bukrai itself helped to create. The Still Being of the One knows it not.
"Should we, nay, could we, destroy Bukrai? This much is certain: Bukrai could only be destroyed by the dissolution that would follow the halting of the Great Dream. Such would be the undoing of us all. Bukrai does indeed serve a purpose within the Great Dream. While contained, its emanations are constrained to work within the harmony of the other Great Primal Forces, and provide the rhythm for the Great Song of Creation.
Q: If Bukrai is indeed contained, why is it a threat at all?
A: Left in its resting-place, Bukrai would have been quite harmless. However, that which comes into direct contact with the orb that cannot be viewed runs the risk of becoming an instrument of its Shadow. You see, it could not move of its own volition. It therefore needed a vehicle to remove itself from the Barren Plane. Morgath was the perfect host. Desperate and afraid of death, he felt he had nothing to lose, and nothing is what he gained.
Bukrai endlessly seeks to free itself from the constraints of the First Ones. To do this, it would have to move itself to a place where the other Great Primal Forces have no power. Such would have to be a realm where the reflections of Bukrai's primal emanations still resonate unhindered; a Void. Even then, it would take fantastic power to shatter the bonds of the First Ones. Nevertheless, Bukrai, through its instrument Morgath, seeks entrance into this dimension; its only hope for salvation, which is ironically its own destruction.
Q: Does such a place really exist?
A: Yes, if it can be called a "place". There were entities who dwelt there long ago, before that realm was as it is now. They were twisted by Bukrai into nightmarish creatures; hollow shells of beings that fell into the hopeless Shadow and sought to save themselves from total annihilation by becoming its slaves. But that was long ago, before Bukrai was imprisoned. I know not whether they serve it still . . .
Q: You say that Bukrai is nothingness. How, then, can it think and feel?
A: It neither thinks nor feels. Bukrai is one of the Great Primal Forces. It does not make plans or schemes. It has no personality like you or I, and it has no concept of consequences. It has only an endless hunger; a hunger to destroy, to undo all. Unconstrained, its essence needs no direction. It simply swallows that which is into its own void-like nature, thus undoing it. Fortunately for us all, Bukrai is contained by the First Ones, and is unable to escape its prison.
Q: If Bukrai has no personality, why does it appear so evil?
A: Because Bukrai is evil . . . to us. As I said before, Bukrai is but an illusion to the One. To us, however, it is very, very real. Nothingness has no reality within the One, only within the realms of space and time, where we dwell. Likewise, there is no good or evil within the One. Only with the separation of consciousnesses do these concepts exist, for there could be no harm unless there was something else to harm. Nor could there be kindness, unless there was another to be kind to. Always there must be an "other" to give these concepts meaning. An "other" to harm. An "other" to help. An "other" to judge.
Why does Bukrai appear so evil, you ask? Because it is the mortal self's greatest fear: oblivion. By its very nature, Bukrai is interpreted by our minds as the embodiment of purest evil. You see, the mind naturally perceives the possibility of Non-Being as malevolent. Even the gods fear it.
Though in containment, Bukrai can focus its emanations through an entity in direct contact with it. These directed emanations can warp or change modes of being, producing the seemingly impossible. Always, the taint of Bukrai's Shadow is left in the wake: malevolence, ugliness, and hopelessness. What of the evil that is perceived now as the Shadow of Bukrai, you ask? I can tell you this: That the Shadow of Bukrai, as it is now experienced in the worlds, is an inner "nightmare image" from Morgath's mind. It is his cold hand which grasps the orb that cannot be viewed. Hence,Its emanations are perceived and filtered by his mind and projected in that form into our world as its Shadow.
Those who serve the Lord of Durakhar are doomed to participate in an endless, hopeless nightmare, in which one's only other option is oblivion.
Original author was Scott A. Smith,
but has been edited by Avathar Valcana
for campaign reasons.