A World of Darkness: Abyssal Locations

The Geography of the Umbra:

The Golden Rule: The Umbra is a Mysterious place and going there should not be a hasty decision. Each travel should be unique and enlightening; since the path are never exactly the same twice, everything is more about the journey than the destination... The Geography here is a bit more loose than on earth.

Mainly there is two way to think about it:
_The Hierarchical way imply that there is a high and a low part of the Umbra. As their name suggest going to the high umbra, starting from the middle umbra imply going up (metaphysically, not alway spatially). This means you can reach the high Umbra by flying or climbing. Going to the Low Umbra mean going down in a pit or some tunnels. This is the way St should describe the Umbra to the player
_The Symbolical way understand the relations between realms as relations between concepts. The closer a concept is to an other one, the more connections the realms have together, the more chance of finding a portal to cross from one to the other. This is the way the Storyteller should consider the Umbra and plan the player's trip accordingly.

3 layers of Umbra:

The Astral Umbra: (aka High Umbra)
Realm of Thoughts & Dreams. Everything is information here and few creature walking the earth are known to reach it with their corporeal form. Mostly her it's only your mind link to your body on earth. Physical characteristics are replaced by mental ones. Mostly it's the place of high Incarnae or mages, sometime you can see a Vampire with a high Auspex but if it's not in the direct surrounding of earth it means he's lost. Beware of the fews ones that are not lost as they must be really powerful.

The main places in this part of the Umbra are:
_The Etheral Plane close to earth. This is the Astral version of the penumbra surrounding Earth
_The Vulgate in the valley is made of villages built along the river of languages. Each city represent a culture according to the language the river symbolise. It's an interpersonal Astral space, meaning it's seen more or less in the same way by everyone.
_The High Umbral courts, located along the side of huge spires. These spires are the home to the gods of a culture, never underestimate their powers. As a vampire I strongly suggest to avoid the side of the mountain linked with the court of fire as there is often Spirits linked to the Sun dwelling there. This is a personal Astral space, which mean all its challenged and landscapes are designed only for the visitor, according to his own personality. The Umbral Lords test the worthy ones to make sure they are in the right state of mind to acces a particular Epiphany... If you fail the test, umbrood might drop you in an other epiphany or simply cast you in the Abyss.
_The Epiphanies are the clouds at the top of the spires. They are the first horizon. From them it become possible to travel to realms located in the deep void.
The process of reaching an epiphany, from the vulgate, is an enlightening journey similar to what you can have in the Darkness; Using shortcuts like the Null Zone does not provide the same level of insight.

Spires & Suspires:
I have read the description Nehemiah (SoB p. 28-29) wrote of his failed attempt to reach Golconda and it seem to me he went through an Epiphany. He calls the process the "Suspire" and it seem like a first hint that the Suspire has to go through a Spire in order to reach Golconda. It seem likely that Golconda is an Epiphany at the top of the Spire of an ancient culture.... The real problem is to find this spire that lead there. As with many places in the High Umbra you must be in the right state of mind to acces this particular Epiphany, the umbral courts are here to make sure of it. Maybe there are other spire that might led you to different epiphany according to the "Road" a vampire choose to take... The path of metamorphosis might lead to a similar epiphany while different in its purpose, babylonian called it Azhi Dahaka aka the Evil Dragon. Could the Abyss provide the same kind of enlightenment ? I believe there are hints pointing toward this conclusion. While the Abyss seem to go underground, I always thought the absence of spatial consistency in this realm could mean the way down is also a way up. The Abyss might be a reverse spire... But does that mean you reach a reverse epiphany ? The Nether World is an epiphany and it's also located both in the deep void and in the Abyss. How could that both be true ? Anyway in the dark, the spatial directions are less important than the journey...


The Middle Umbra: The Velvet Shadow
Here you can reach Spiritually... that means physically if you're alive or a spirit. Point is vampires were reaped of they spirit by the embrace so for the most part they can't get here... except, maybe by climbing the pit or drowning in the collective dreams of humanity... or maybe that's not even enough. In a Tremere library I found an old ritual allowing the passage in these lands for the sacrifice of an intelligent being. It's Geography is divided in 3 part :
The velvet shadow close to earth which lead directly to what's called the Spirits Wylds also known as the Mythic Realms, a bunch of Wyld realms caught more or less between the influence of the Weaver and/or the Wyrm. Wolfs and Shamans enter most of time in realms dedicated to nature, Techno Wizards tend to get in realm resembling to futuristic universe. Creature linked to the Wyrm like us vampires find it easier to pass into nightmarish realms. Lasombra have special connection with the Spirits Wilds as they are the only clan to be able to comes here if only they decided to climb up the Chasm... The easiest realms to find are the Wasteland (aka. the Land of Despair) a form of purgatory (beware for these realms are anathema to vampires as being reedem mean true death for us), the Atrocity Realm, a Nightmarish realm playing on your deepest fears and last but not least, the Scar, opening a huge umbral rift through slavery & industrial means. But before trying to get there you would have to know you could get there and too few of our library have been preserved to hope to find any clues of that. Kyasid might be the last ones to have any knowledge of that fact. Then comes the umbral sky composed of a bunch of realms that are called the Aetherial Realms. it's hard to reach, especially for us Leach, it might pass close to the Sun (never a good idea even here) or Luna and lead into the Deep Void.
Werewolves, being half spirits, are masters of these lands! Beware since they have many tricks to pull on you out here... and surrounding spirits tend to help them when they can.

The Low Umbra (aka Dark Umbra or Underworld)
Here's the realm of the dead aka ghosts and vampires. Vampires that walk these deadlands are more powerfuls & knowledgables of the realms than most of the ones in the Astral part. It must be linked to the fact that as undead they are the real master of this realms... But even if I've seen some of my cousins roam this land and they surely don't look like masters down there. The way of Iron is somehow linked with the Low Umbra

For more than 2 century I walked those dark paths and now I feel I should write down my experience for other mystic to get a hint of the real depth of the Abyss...

Luna: The light in the Shadows
While not really a part of the Realm, as in the rest of the umbra, the moon is providing its light over the realm but after barely more a 1000 miles down inside the chasm not any light can be seen anymore... Only degree of darkness... One of the few things to know about the umbra is the fact that days and nights are reversed and that the sun is not as strong as it is on earth. No, here in the world of Dreams, its rays cannot reach into the pit. They are so weak they are dispelled by the first cloud or even a mere shadow... In truth in the Umbra, as everything made of dream, it's the power of Luna that give substance to the realms. While the Sun is empowering reality aka Earth, the Moon is powering the Umbra aka the dream. In the void the faint light of the moon, when any, has a blueish tone not so far from the one, we Kiasyd cast sometime under her ray.
System:
During earth's night time It is day time in tha Umbra, therefore the Chasm is in total darkness and sight Preception rolls are at 10. Only the Half Moon is strong enough to peirce the veil of darkness (difficulty 8 ); a Gibbous moon is at difficulty 6; while a full moon is so bright that the sight related rolls are at difficulty 4. Remember that vampires do not suffer from the weight of the sun while in this realm as here Night is stronger than Day. Also in the Umbra the sun rays are so weak that they are blocked by the ant shadow, that's why werwolf calls it the "Velvet Shadow".
Every 300 feet down the Chasm add +1 to difficulty to sight Preception rolls. When the difficulty pass over 10, hallucinations frequently happend. At this point any succes on a sight Perception+Awareness/Primal-Urges difficulty 8 induce dangerous but enlightening hallucinations. Any Heightened Senes actualy reduce the difficulty of the roll by regular rules. More success than willpower get you lost in your own mindscape...
The Abyss ritual named "Whispers in the Dark" is a relatively reliable way to use this aspect of the Chasm

The Deep Void: (aka Great Void, Deep Umbra, Umbral Ocean)
Far in the sky is the deep blue darkness (only one shade from the black midnight) called the Deep Void. Inside this kind of rolling ocean are thousands of bubble's like realms. Following the Greek tradition of geocentrism, it's the great emptiness between planets around earth, starting from the moon. Its separated from earth by the metaphysical barrier known as the 1st Horizon. In the modern day the concept of the deep umbra transformed and became associated with the void around the atmosphere and therefore Horizon's limits shrunk accordingly. I've heard tales mentioning that this change in the horizon's limits started with during Galileo's time and is the real reason why Arcadia is no longer reachable as the moon is now considered inside the deep void instead of being on the verge of Earth. Aristotle's cosmos is falling out of use in the modern days as distances are more importants than the journey itself. For Humans beings, Quantity replaced Quality and the Fae slowly left this universe way too common for their purposes.
As all epiphany are realms accesible only through thought (Astral form or Dreams) it is possible to create an illusion in the deep void an therefore to interact with it. Beware though only the most skilled dreamers are able to create with their own though, the landscape that would allow them to reach a distant epiphany without falling down in the Abyss. In fact the deep void and the Abyss are deeply linked since they are both fading into the Nihil and through it to the depth of Earth's oceans.
Denizen:
Beware here lies among other things an old race of cephalopod spirits named the "Chuloviah". They have been mentioned in some old Abyss related texts from the babylonian era. It might need further investigations on that matter since, from the few things I've grasp they seem to want to bring the dry lands of Earth under the level of the Sea, bringing an Abyssal night onto Earth (see Blood Dimmed Tides p. 109; The Book of Worlds p. 161 & Infinite Tapestry p. 138)
The Nether Worlds (see below) are known to have may links to the Deep Void.

[b]The Chasm:[/b]
It's the rift that is growing at the heart of realms. often compared to a tumor or a cancer. I assisted once to the process of the creation of this rifts. Little by little it bites into the realm. It seem that some of them resist more and some other are eaten in a few years. As much as I observed, and contrary to the conculsion reached by the wolf-people, it seem to be the natural process of disparition for the realms that are to old to sustain themselves... The less the realm is in touch with the actual world, the more it vanish into nothingness...
It is rumored among the were creatures that every crack in the universe lead, when followed from long enough, to the chasm. In a way this story, if true, is quite similar to the Way we, Lasombra, reach the Nihil. Could both be somehow linked as cracks are filled with shadows ?
From the sides of the Chasm are 3 paths plunging down into the Nihil
System:
Climbing the walls demand for a Strength + Sports at difficulty 6. See the § "Luna" for Sight penalty

The Nihil: (aka The Null Zone, The Nether Zone, Nothigness, the Void)
The Nihil is the core of the Abyss linking together all it's different aspects in the darkness. It extend everywhere and has not any real size.
It's akin to the space between astral realms, a kind of Shadowy backstage to all creation. While the Chasm is the "edge" of the great rift, in the Umbra, the Nihil is the dark patch of space between both side.You see not all the umbra is "written all over". Inorder to acces such a place from any umbral realm you have to break a second gauntlet hidden in the shadows of the whole Creation.
Sometime, for the few enlightened able to tear appart the gauntlet, it's easier to rip it than to search for the gate of the realm they are currently travelling. In the higher part of the Astral Umbra, it's a must pass in order to reach an other Epiphany. In the regular Umbra it take a more spatial form: tunnels and caves at one of the bottom of the Abyss aka the Null Zone. Anyway it's always better to know how to fly since reaching the bottom can take quite some time. And most "sane" people don't want to stay too long in this place. Beside that, the complex of dark warm womblike tunnels also known as the deep caves is full of shades and
I've said before: "it's the space between worlds"; and that might have been a mislead since in fact it's the absence of space between world. Here everything slowly fade into nothingness. Bodied visitor find themselves floating weightless as in freefall. If you've entered the realm with someone else you should hold hands and even then if you stay to long they will finally disappear. Until you start to fade: first cloths, immediately followed by your body itself ... The process then reverse as slowly as it begun. It is preferable to know where you want to go before using the Nihil in order to travel as its not good to be lost in there...
I've heard tales from Shamans witnessing some Corax fly right in the middle of the chasm right into the Void. They say they ravens use the connexion between all shadows and the Nihil to reach the places they want in a few moments. As much as I understood, even if the Abyss and the Deep void are located in totally different places they are somehow connected through the Nihil. In fact the Nihil is not a realm in itself, it's what is called a Zone. A place/concept so inherently tied with the rest of the tellurian that it extend almost everywhere and cannot be damaged without causing majore repercussion to the rest of the universe. The dreaming is also such a Zone, reaching everywhere in the Umbra...
System:
Staring into the Nihil can lead you to maddening terror (roll Willpower SR 10 - Courage)
Reaching the Nihil without a proper mean demand a way to breach the gauntlet and a roll
The length of the stay and the destination reached is deternimed by the Way the Nihil is entered:
You can use the ritual level 6 named "Into the Chasm" (cf. Players Guide to the High Clans page 180).
Unwillingly entering the realm leads to great trouble as you "fall" into it the deepest part of the Abyss close to the Nether Worlds or even in the the pit leading to Malfeas.
Except through special means navigation here imply an Intelligence + Enigma roll, difficulty 10 (5 succes needed in order to reach the exact location you want).

The Ways of the Wyck:
From the side of a crack a few "secured" paths are plunging into the Chasm, Verbana call them the "Paths of the Wyck", Alchemist refere to it as the Null Zone:
Were-creatures and Sorcerers have different names for the paths according to the striated bands of metal the paths are made.
System:
Walking the paths ask for Dexterity + Sports rolls at variable difficulty

The Way of Gold:
No one really know where the way of Gold comes from... What's sure is the fact that this path lead to a Void from which you won't come back. As its name suggest it, the ground of path itself is made of lines the purest gold. Riches lies scattered all over the way makes it difficult to to progress along the path. If you pay really close attention you can see old runes engraved in the rock.
I tend to think it is a direct link with the Astral world and the epiphanies. If that's true it must be passing through the Nihil to reach into the deep void itself to the Nether Realms. Beware that going too far on this path will ultimately lead to self-Destruction... Of all path this is the Deadliest.

The Way of Silver:
The way of Silver is the path that is linking the Middle Umbra with the chasm. Most of the time this path is entered through a pit or a crack in the middle Umbra. Werewolfs accord a great significance to this path as one of their tribes went down to try to kill a being known as the Devourer, sharing strong link with the Wyrm. It is possible that this path was starting from the dark side of the moon as Arcadia was in the shadow of the moon.
What's sure is that for now it only reach up to the caves of Queen Marianna at the Gates of Arcadia through the Atrocity Realm. Remember that the worst nightmares happend in the Dark. Note that this path is the most mysterious as challenges are alway different along this way.

The Way Iron:
Here's a path that is pretty easy as it goes down the chasm without anything too much unexpected... If you don't leave the main road.
The ground is is lined with striated bands of Iron; on the side are caves filled with challenges and rewards... Along with the body of the many unfortunates that died in here. Some ghost can be found roaming along the way indicating the bottom of this path could lead to the Underword. But beware as deep in the Abyss everything might fade into the darkest void.

The Bridge of Despair:
Halfway down stand the Bridge of despair made of bones and skulls. it's a place of pure hopelessness. A cold chill, a faint brezze and the will to put your pathetic existence to an end is all your gonna ever get from this place. Its rumored to be the creation of a being called Lord Spider trying to repair the gap in the tapestry with the ones that sacrifices themselves to the Abyss. Or maybe she's just stopping something from getting out of the depth. Beware of the cobweb as their touch are known to cause loss of memory. One word struck my mind when I was in this place: Lethe.
Anyway life's useless... I have t o l e a v e t o t h e n e x t p l a c e !

Deep Caves: (aka the Null Zone)
Here's the bottom of the Nihil. At this depth the pressure from the Abyss is so strong that drakness start to become almost liquid like. The absence of all sight and most sound combined with the slight, cold brezze of the Abyss is prompt to make you see illusion as your mind is deseperatly trying to compensate from the absence of sensory affects. This part is strongly linked with the deepest, darkest part of Earth's Ocean and it's Abyssal depth.
From there most magic tend to fail as quintessence is sucked before it can even be used. None but the most subtule uses of magic can be of any help. I found that only Obtenebration and powers over your own mind could be reliably used here. All invocations are at -3 as the Abyss is a spiritual magnet, but any spirit summoned here will be pissed off since this part of the realm is a literal death sentence for every spirit. In order to avoid that, most of Lasombra's Arts deal with denizen of the realm or spirits already fading into this
System:
From the side of the Chasm, along the path are countless caves and tunnels. All depict scene from various places and some lead to great perils...
Denizen:
Cephalopod related emanations and Spirits linked to darkness (see Appendix II).
The Null Zone imply a form of spatial travel that is linked with the "Shadowstep" power level 6 and the "Descent into Darkness" ritual (Lasombra Cb rev p. 73).
Any one able to feel the Darkness can find it's way around here

The Way of Steel:
Most of the crafted things lost in the umbra can be found here
System:
Finding something crafted that was lost is a necessitate 2 succes
The Way of Soil:
Here is the road of dead plants where u can reach to all the extinct or lost plants.
System:
Finding an plant ask for 2 succes

The Nether Worlds:
I read the traditional description made by Oliver Hodge, member of the Saint Order of the Celestial Chorus... At first It made me smile. It sounded like some kind of Christian Hell along with an amazingly small part of the description dedicated to other religions. The only thing I saw that was a bit true was the mention of the "Tunnel Downwrard" leading to the caves of suffering and to the plain of penance. There through a miles long spiky iron wall you reach the Deep. A great pit, taking days to reach the bottom, composed of layer and layers of darkness pain and suffering. At the bottom is the lake of fire composed of the coldest water ever. At the centre of the lake lay the court of the damned divided into different wards according to the hell it manifest. In the centre of the city is the cathedral of the Fall a towering city of breathing darkness. A black wall surround the Cathedral to separate it from the rest of the city.
Rings a bell ? I suspect all this story is what's called an epiphany as the absence of light when you travel in the deep void or the Abyss (but in the dark all things are the same) can make thing really real... Especially when you're only a thought... What gave me a hint that this was an epiphany in the middle of the Abyss was the fact the travler kept mentioning the light that was guiding him in the darkness and the warm breeze running in the tunnel. You see there is no way he could have had light a this depth. It doesn't work here as close by shadows tend to jump on it, devouring all the quintessence they can find in order to existe a bit more. You see in here it's even worst to bring light since it could turn a mere shadow into a reality. And you don't want to make real what's still not dead yet. As a lasombra i recommend never to use a light here as the shades of the spirits lost there would revoque their blissful ignorance of your actions and curse you with all their undying hate...
The point is that In the End you only bring the shades of own demons with you!

I stopped smiling when I foresaw a future event; what if this collective illusion would be made real? What if a being so old that he's only remembered as a shadow in the collective mind would happen to rise from his grave? Would that event be able to shatter the bridge of despair ? What if the light of the Luna was reaching to the bottom of the pit, giving its power to mere shades ? Would all these "shades" of demons be albe to roam freely ?
I see such an event in the future, lots of dead in a drowning country. There The King of Nighmare rise, challenged by 3 shadows: the Dragon, the Crane and the Tiger. Over them a huge spider is trying to protect her web but each figure is tearing it as they fight. The biggest hole in the perfect pattern is around the king of nighmanre as he reach through the web to bring shadows of old demons to his side. And he's warping each shade in the web he torn out in order to gives them more reality. Using all strings she could the spider tries to harness the power of the sun against these being but it does not work... Until a huge explosion shattered what remained of the last strands of web and the Nightmares will become real ! May that vision stay a mere shadow.
System:
The Dark Thaumaturgy's ritual "Into the Abyss" leads here (Guide to the Sabbat p. 104)

Malfeas:
Castle Chtonus:

The Geography of the Shadows:

The Golden Rule:
The Umbra is a dream, a mysterious place, and going there should never be a hasty decision. Each travel should be unique and enlightening; since the paths are never exactly the same twice, everything is more about the journey than the destination... The Geography here is a bit more loose than on earth and should vary accordingly to the purpose of the story.

There are two kinds of theories about umbral geography:
_The Hierarchical theories imply that there is a high and a low part of the Umbra. As their name suggest going to the high umbra, starting from the middle umbra imply going up… at least metaphysically if not always spatially. This means you can reach the high Umbra by flying or climbing while going to the Low Umbra mean going down in a pit or some tunnels. (This is the way players should most of the time perceive the Umbra).
_The Symbolical theories understand the relations between realms as relations between concepts. The closer a concept is to some other, the more connections their corresponding realms have together and the more chance there is to find a portal to cross from one to the other. (This is the way the Storyteller should consider the Umbra; this should also prove useful when trying to determine the length of time someone passes inside the Nihil when it is used as a shortcut between 2 realms).

3 layers of Umbra:

The Astral Umbra: (aka High Umbra)
Realm of Thoughts & Dreams. Everything is information here and few creature walking the earth are known to reach it with their corporeal form. Mostly her it's only your mind link to your body on earth. Mental characteristics replace physical ones. This is the place where high Incarnae or mages dwell. Sometime you can see a Vampire with a high Auspex but if it's not in the direct surrounding of earth that means he's lost. Beware of the few ones that are not lost, as they must possess some really old and powerful knowledge.

The main places in this part of the Umbra are:
_The Etheral Plane close to earth is the Astral version of the penumbra surrounding Earth. This level is the combination of the influence of Stasis and Wyld as it’s is a manifestation of the flow of mans’ thoughts quite close to the nature of the Dreaming. No entropy can be seen here, since knowledge & idea never really dies… it transform into another thought. It’s presence is deeply linked to the cities and man-made landscapes. Following any river into the city lead you to the Vulgate.
_The Vulgate is the set of villages built in the valley along the river of languages. Each city represent a culture according to the language the river symbolize. It's an interpersonal astral space, meaning it's more or less the identical for all the people belonging to the same culture.
_The High Umbral courts are located along the side of huge spires. These spires are homes to the gods of a particular culture. The spires are often divided among the court of the 4 basic elements. Never underestimate the powers of these spirits. As a Vampire I strongly suggest to avoid the side of the mountain linked with the court of fire for obvious reasons. This is a personal Astral space, which mean all its challenged and landscapes are designed only for the visitor, according to his own personality. The Umbral Lords test the worthy ones to make sure they are in the right state of mind to access a particular Epiphany... If you fail the test, the umbroods might drop you in an unexpected epiphany or simply cast you in the Abyss.
_The Epiphanies are the clouds at the top of the spires. They are the first horizon. From them it becomes possible to travel to realms located in the Deep Void.
The process of reaching an epiphany, from the vulgate, is an enlightening journey; while using shortcuts like the Null Zone in the Deep Caves might not always provide the same level of insight.

The Middle Umbra (aka the Velvet Shadow, the Spirit Wylds or the Mythic Realms)
Here you can reach physically... if you're alive or a spirit. Point is vampires were reaped of they spirit by the embrace so for the most part they can't get here... except, maybe by climbing the pit or drowning in the collective dreams of humanity... or maybe that's not even enough. In a Tremere library I found an old ritual allowing the passage in these lands for the sacrifice of an intelligent being.

The Middle Umbra’s Geography is divided into 3 parts:
_The Velvet Shadow is a Penumbra that surrounds earth. Its presence is felt stronger when close to places dedicated to nature untamed by human intentionality. Natural sources of pure running water in the forest are particularly linked to those places. The whole place is under the influence of the Wyld and the Wyrm, making its landscape a representation of the eternal struggle between Life and Death, Creation and Destruction. Stasis has no place here and the whole penumbra is the hunting ground for spirits. Lupines are master of these lands and on top of the food chain. They are the ultimate predators of those woods. Lupines, both hunters and spirits, are masters of these lands... Beware since they have many tricks they can play here, while vampires can barely reach it. Only our mastery of Obtenebration and some Thaumaturgy can reach this place
_By following the river of animal sounds deeper into the woods it will lead you directly to what's called the Spirits Wylds also referred to as the Mythic Realms. Those are a bunch of Wyld realms caught more or less between the influence of the Weaver and/or the Wyrm. Wolfs and Shamans enter most of time in realms dedicated to forest and nature they call the spirit wyld; Techno Wizards tend to find it easier to get in realms linked to science fiction’s myths through the Vulgate and some of the High Umbral Courts; Creatures linked to the Wyrm like us vampires find it often easier to pass into nightmarish realms through links with the Underworld. It should be noted that Lasombra have a special connection with the Spirits Wilds, as they are the only clan among vampires to be naturally able to come there if they are powerful enough... From the side of the Chasm, the easiest realms you could reach are: the Wasteland, also known as the Land of Despair a form of purgatory (beware for these realms can become anathema to vampires as being redeem in the spirit lands means true death for the soulless being like vampires); the Atrocity Realm, a Nightmarish realm playing on your deepest fears; and last but not least the Scar, build over a huge Abyssal chasm opened through slavery & industrial means. Before even trying to get there you would have to know you could reach it… and too few of the clan Lasombra’s libraries have been preserved to hope to find any clues of that except among my knowledgeable brothers.
_Over the mythic realms - for those able to fly or to jump high enough - comes the Umbral Sky composed of a bunch of clouds that are supporting what’s known as the Aetherial Realms. The clouds are also a manifestation of the first horizon itself, but a more physical one than in the astral world. It's hard to reach, especially for us Leach and it might lead close to the Sun (which is never a good idea even out here) or Luna through the Deep Void.

The Low Umbra (aka Dark Umbra or Underworld, the Shadowlands)
Here's the realm of the dead aka ghosts and vampires. Vampires that walk these deadlands are more powerful & knowledgeable of this realm than most of the ones in the Astral part. It must be linked to the fact that as undead they are the real master of this realms... But even if I've seen some of my cousins roam this land and down there they surely don't look like masters to me. There is a good chance the way of Iron is somehow linked with the Low Umbra

Luna:
While not really a part of the Realm, as in the rest of the umbra, the moon is providing its light over the realm but after barely more than a 1000 miles down inside the chasm no light can be seen anymore... Only degree of darkness... One of the few things to know about the umbra is the fact that days and nights are reversed and that the sun is not as strong as it is on earth. In fact, in the world of Dreams, its rays cannot reach into the pit. They are so weak they are dispelled by the first cloud or even a mere shadow... In truth in the Umbra, since everything is made of dreams, it's the power of Luna that gives substance to the different realms. You see while the Sun is powering reality, the Moon is empowering the dream. It is quite interesting to note that in the void the faint light of the moon, when any, has a bluish tone not so far from the one, we Kiasyd manifest sometime under her rays.
System:
_During earth's night time it is day time in the Umbra and since the sunray are so weak, the Chasm is in total darkness: all perception rolls based on sight are at difficulty 10. Only the light of Half Moon is strong enough to pierce the veil of darkness in the direct surrounding of the Chasm: perception is at difficulty 8. On the nights of a Gibbous moon the difficulty is 6. A full moon is so bright that the sight related rolls are only at difficulty 4.
_The Abyss is the Land of Eternal Night and therefore placed under the Dominion of the Night. Here no creature is ever affected by the torpor associated with the Day.
_Every 300 feet down the Chasm add +1 to difficulty to sight Perception rolls.
_When the difficulty pass 10 hallucinations happened frequently. At this point, any success on a sight Perception + Awareness (or Primal-Urges) difficulty 8 induce dangerous but enlightening hallucinations (see details on the Way of Silver).
_Any Heightened Sense actually reduce the difficulty of all perception roll by 1/level of Auspex, but it also makes it easier to hallucinate. Beware since getting more success than your willpower will get you lost in your own mindscape... From then you’ll be hopelessly lost to the Abyss.
_On moonless night spirits known as Moon Shadows can be found descending from the moon into the Abyss especially in the Path of Silver (Umbra the Velvet Shadow p.121 & Axis Mundi p.132)

The Deep Void: (aka Great Void, Deep Umbra, Umbral Ocean)
Far in the sky is the deep blue darkness (only one shade from the black midnight) called the Deep Void. Inside this kind of rolling ocean are thousands of bubble-like realms. Following the Greek tradition of geocentrism, it's the great emptiness between planets around earth, starting from the moon. It is separated from earth by the metaphysical barrier known as the 1st Horizon. In the modern day the concept of the deep umbra transformed and became associated with the void around the atmosphere and therefore Horizon's limits shrunk accordingly. I've heard tales mentioning that this change in the horizon's limits started with during Galileo's time and is the real reason why Arcadia is no longer reachable as the moon is now considered inside the deep void instead of being on the verge of Earth. Aristotle's cosmos is falling out of use in the modern days since distances are more important than the journey itself. For Humans beings, Quantity replaced Quality and the Fae slowly left this universe way too common for their purposes.
As all epiphanies are realms accessible only through thought (Astral form or Dreams) it is possible to create a self-illusion while in the deep void and therefore to start to interact with it. Beware though only the most skilled dreamers are able to create, with only the power of their own mind, the landscape that would allow them to reach a distant epiphany without falling down in the Abyss. Doing so is always leading back into the Abyss at a point or an other
In fact the deep void and the Abyss are deeply linked since they are both fading into the Nihil and through it to the depth of Earth's oceans.
Denizens:
_Some occurrence of the Cephalopod Malefica have also been mentioned dwelling in the deepest places of the Abyss but these hasn’t been confirmed (cf. the Watchers in the Deep: Book of Worlds p.161; or the Chulorviah: Blood Dimmed Tied p.110 or Infinite Tapestry p.138)
_Demons, the Nether Realms, Malfeas are all supposed to be both in the endless void beyond the far horizon (far beyond our solar system) and in the Abyss.

The Chasm:
It's the rift that is growing at the heart of realms. Often compared to a tumor or a cancer. I assisted once to the process of the creation of these rifts. Little by little it bites into the realm. It seem that some of them resist more and some other are eaten in just a few years. As much as I observed - and contrary to the conclusion reached by the lupines - it seem to be the natural process of disappearance for the realms that are to old to sustain themselves... The less the realm is in touch with the actual world, the more it vanish into nothingness, losing colors and becoming shadow-like.
It is rumored among the were-creatures that every crack in the universe leads - when followed for enough time - into the chasm. In a way this story, if true, is quite similar to the way we, Lasombra, reach the Abyss through darkness. Could both be somehow linked as cracks are filled with shadows?
From the sides of the Chasm are three paths plunging into the Nihil; the Way of Gold linked to the High Umbra, the Way of Silver starting from the Middle Umbra and finally the Way of Iron reaching into the Shadowlands.
System:
_Climbing the walls demand only for a Strength + Sports at difficulty 6 whatever the light.
_Leaving the Chasm by non-magical means requires to walk along one of the Abyss’s tributary crack for days and then to make a willpower (or courage) roll difficulty 8
Denizens:
_Any Night related spirits (Cf. Appendix II)
_For those that want to give more flavors to the Denizens of this realm think of which spirit might have been fading in this aspect of the realm and describe it as being only a dark shadow of its former self… Spirits lost here are digested until their shadowy appearance is no more than an empty shell, an emanation of the Abyss. Then, when they have loss the last drop of power allowing them to sustain themselves, they just vanish into the void. I’ll suggest some lost spirits along the descriptions of each parts of the Abyss.

The Nihil: (aka The Null Zone, The Nether Zone, Nothigness, the Void)
The Nihil is the core of the Abyss linking together all it's different aspects in the darkness. It extend everywhere and has not any real size.
It's akin to the space between astral realms: a sort of shadowy backstage to all creation. While the Chasm is the "edge" of the great umbral rift, the Nihil is the dark patch of space between both sides. You see not all the umbra is "written all over". In order to access such a place from any umbral realm you have to break a second gauntlet hidden in the shadows of the whole Creation.
Sometime, for the few enlightened able to tear apart the gauntlet, it's easier to rip it than to search for the gate of the realm they are currently travelling. In the higher part of the Astral Umbra, it's a must pass in order to reach another Epiphany. In the regular Umbra it take a more spatial form: tunnels and caves at one of the bottom of the Abyss aka the Null Zone or the Deep Caves. Anyway it's always better to know how to fly since reaching the bottom can take quite some time. And most "sane" people don't want to stay too long in this place.
I've said before: "it's the space between worlds"; and that might have been misleading since in fact it's the absence of space between world. Here everything slowly fade into nothingness. Bodied visitors find themselves floating weightless as in freefall. If you've entered the realm with someone else you should hold hands and even then if you stay to long they will finally disappear. Until you start to fade: first cloths immediately followed by your body itself ... The process then reverse as slowly as it begun. It is preferable to know where you want to go before using the Nihil in order to travel as its not good to be lost in there... Worst is even to seek for the Nihil itself as no one has ever been seen returning from such a journey in the Abyss.
I've heard tales from Shamans witnessing some Corax fly straight in the middle of the chasm right into the Void. They say the ravens’ people use the connection between all shadows called “the Nihil” to reach the places they want in a few moments or disappear forever. As much as I understood, even if the Abyss and the Deep void are located in totally different spaces they are somehow connected through the Nihil. In fact the Nihil is not a realm in itself, it's what is called a Zone. A place/concept so inherently tied with the rest of the tellurian that it extend almost everywhere and cannot be damaged without causing major repercussions to the rest of the universe. The dreaming is also such a Zone, reaching everywhere in the Umbra...
System:
_Staring into the Nihil can lead you to maddening terror: roll Willpower SR 10 – Courage (Rage for Lupines)
_Reaching the Nihil without a proper means or a long journey into the Chasm calls for a way to breach the gauntlet and a roll getting at least 5 success while concentrating on getting “backstage”.
_The length of the stay and the destination reached is determined by the Way the Nihil is entered.
_"Into the Chasm" provide a more or less safe way to enter the Nihil (cf. Players Guide to the High Clans page 180).
_Unwillingly entering the realm leads to great trouble as you "fall" into it the deepest part of the Abyss close to the Nether Worlds or into the pit leading to Malfeas.
_Navigation here imply an Intelligence + Enigma roll, difficulty 10 (5 success are needed in order to reach the exact location you want).
_Regular usage of the Nihil could provide an increase in the arcane background or merit.

The Ways of the Wyck:
From the side of a crack a few "secured" paths are plunging into the Chasm. Verbana call them the "Paths of the Wyck", Alchemist refers to them as the Null Zone:
Were-creatures and Sorcerers have different names for the paths according to the striated bands of metal the paths are made.
System:
Walking the different paths ask for Dexterity + Sports rolls at variable difficulty. Add the regular light penalty (see the part dedicated to Luna)
Suggested denizens of the three first paths:
Night related spirits (cf. Appendix II), Kid Fears & Night Terrors (cf. Book of world p. 164).

The Way of Gold:
No one really know where the way of Gold comes from... What's sure is the fact that this path leads to a Void from which you won't come back. As its name suggest, the ground itself is made of the purest gold. Riches lies scattered all over the way makes it difficult to progress along the path. If you pay really close attention you can see old runes engraved in the rock.
It seem there is a direct link with the Astral World and the Epiphanies. If that's true it must be passing through the Nihil to fade into the Deep Void itself. Maybe it’s reaching up to the Nether Realms. Beware that going too far on this path will lead ultimately to self-Destruction... Of all paths this is the Deadliest!
System:
_Walking the Path require to roll Dexterity + Sports at difficulty +2
_Deciphering the inscriptions require a Intelligence + Linguistic (or Enigma) at difficulty 7 (9). 2 successes are needed to read “Those who take what belong to the Chasm, leave themselves as payment”.
_Collecting the gold from the path can bring resource up to 5 but doing so invoke a potent curse of the Abyss. From this point the character will mysteriously lose things of importance to him: possessions, love, control or even sanity…
Suggested denizens:
Some Epiphlings wander here from time to time:
_Bitter-Sweets is a Epiphling of Nostalgia often easily found out here (Book of Worlds p.166).
_The farther you go, the more chance you have to meet the Swarm of Envy (cf. Axis Mundi p.154)
_Nemesis, the Epiphling of guilt (Book of Worlds p.167) is encountered guarding the gates of Hell along with the Dogs of War (cf. Axis Mundi p.152).
The Maidens of Styx, the Epiphlings of Death, are also rumored to be inhabiting a cave along this path (cf. Axis Mundi p.150).

The Way of Silver:
A trail of the purest Silver is linking the Middle Umbra with the chasm. Most of the time this path is entered through a pit or a crack in the middle Umbra. While going a few hundred feet down you can start to see gigantic figures craved into the wall.
Werewolves accord a great significance to this path as one of their tribes went down to try to kill a being known as the Devourer, sharing strong link with the Wyrm. It is possible that this path was starting from the dark side of Luna when Arcadia was known to be in the shadow of the moon.
What's sure is that for now it only reaches up to the caves of Queen Marianna at the Gates of Arcadia through the Atrocity Realm. Remember that the worst nightmares always happened in the Dark. Among all paths this one is the most mysterious and maybe the more difficult since the challenges along its way are always taking a different form.
System:
_Walking the Path require to roll Dexterity + Sports at difficulty +1
Suggested denizens:
The spirit found on this path are often Chimerlings
_ Moon Shadows (Umbra the Velvet Shadow p.121 & Axis Mundi p.132) & Strangeling (Axis Mundi p.131) can be found on this Path
_Danika (aka Shialfeenax or Susbehcha), is a Chimerling revered by the Lupine tribe of the Shadow Lords. It can often be seen at the end of an enlightening journey along this path (Axis Mundi p.147)


The Way Iron:
From far the easiest path downs the Chasm. The ground is lined with striated bands of Iron and the path is quite clear of most tricks… that is only if you don't leave the main road.
On the side of the path are caves filled with multiples challenges and rewards... along with the body & possessions of the many unfortunates that died in here. As the path goes deeper down and no light can be seen anymore, the structure of the cave becomes more complex turning into an interconnected network of tunnels known as the deep caves. Shades of former mages and spirits of the dead are often seen around. Since ghosts can be found roaming along the way it could be a sign indicating the bottom of this path lead to the Underworld and the Labyrinth. But beware as deep in the Abyss everything might fade into a demented maze made of the darkest Oblivion. It is possible that this road is the one conducting the spirits of dead animals to their dissolution in their totem…
System:
Walking the Path require to roll Dexterity + Sports at difficulty +0
Suggested denizens:
On this path you will find Engling spirits.
_Dead Mythic beast are hiding in the Caves
_On rare occasions you can find Ghosts lost here. Beware the most powerful ones possess some kind of magical abilities. Consider this place to be akin to the Shadowlands for the purpose of casting ghost’s Arts… But there is no way ghost could affect earth from here: Abyss’ a prison for those lost souls.
_Shade spiders (book of the Wyrm p.107) along with some Petra Shunyata (Giovanni Chronicles III p.56) have been reported to inhabit the caves along this path. It might be the place they go to hide and breed in the dark.

The Bridge of Despair:
Life is useless. It is like chasing the wind.
Halfway down the Chasm stand the Bridge of despair made of bones and skulls. It's a place of pure hopelessness at the center of all the metallic strands known as the paths of the Wyck. Reaching the Path of Soil and Steel always requires passing by this place. A cold chill, a faint breeze and the will to put your pathetic existence to an end is all you’re going to ever get from this place. Its rumored to be the creation of a being called Lord Spider trying to repair the gap in the tapestry with the ones that sacrifices themselves to the Abyss. Or maybe it's just stopping something from getting out of the depth. Beware of the cobweb as touching them is known to cause loss of memory. One word struck my mind when I was in this place: Lethe.
Anyway life's useless... I have t o l e a v e t o t h e n e x t p l a c e !
System:
_Each time you reach the bridge, the depressing mood can throw you in apathy: in order to try to leave the place roll for Willpower at difficulty 6. Failing this roll prevents the character from leaving willingly the Abyss until he has faced its darkest fears.
Specific Denizen:
_Spider spirits and were-spiders called Ananasi can be found around this place walking on the nearby strands of the gigantic metallic web.
_It is quite possible that Inquisitor spirits (cf. Book of Wyrm 2nd ed p)131 -132 might be found down here… but it has not been confirmed by official sources.

Deep Caves: (aka the Null Zone)
About a quarter mile (400 meters) down the side of the Chasm along the path are countless caves and tunnels. Inside these caves can be found - at the cost of great perils - windows depicting scenes from various places and times. This huge labyrinth of caves is also called the Null Zone. At this depth the pressure from the Abyss is so strong that darkness start to become almost liquid like. The absence of all sight and most sound combined with the slight, cold breeze of the Abyss is prompt to make you see illusion as your mind is desperately trying to compensate from the absence of sensory affects. This part is strongly linked with the deepest, darkest part of Earth's Oceans and their Abyssal depths.
From there most magic tend to fail as quintessence is sucked before it can even be used. None but the subtlest uses of magic can be of any help. I found that only the discipline of Obtenebration, other darkness related gifts, summoning rituals and powers over your own mind could be reliably used here. All invocations are facilitated as the Abyss is a spiritual magnet, but any spirit summoned here will be pissed off since this part of the realm is a literal death sentence to any spirit. It seems that since Obtenebration does not provoke immediate rejection from the spirits it calls, most of Lasombra's dark arts must deal only with emanations (denizens of the realm) or spirits already fading into the realm.
System:
_The difficulty of summoning any spirit is 3 lower, but the difficulty of controlling them should be raised accordingly.
_From this place you can reach any heaven or get lost in the worst hell; there is no place in the whole creation that is out of the reach of the dark… save maybe Helios itself.
_Precise navigation implies an Intelligence + Enigma roll, difficulty 10 (5 success are needed in order to reach the exact location you want).
_Travels between earthly locations are made at a speed of 1000 miles an hour (1600 km/h). It is possible to see you destination before reaching it, but you need means to peer through the surrounding darkness.
_The "Shadowstep" power level 6 and the "Descent into Darkness" ritual are two means to get here, navigation follow the specific rules provided in the description of the ritual. (Lasombra Cb rev p. 73). Going anywhere else than earth requires the navigation roll described below.
_Even if unable to see, being able to feel the darkness (Obtenebration 4) allows enough sensation to feel the paths as currents in a dark ocean, it’s especially helping for any attempt of spatial travel (storyteller’s call).
_Light based magic tend to systematically fail or b(l)ackfire unexpectedly.
Denizens of the Deep caves and the paths below:
_Spirits linked to darkness (see Appendix II).
_Cephalopod related emanations of the Abyss (see Index II)
_Vhujunka, an ancient race living in dark tunnels far below the Earth can be encountered passing through the Deep Caves and both paths below (Book of the Wyrm 1ed p.90, 2nd ed p.133). They are a mysterious kind and are only known for the weird mix of technological and magical tools they use.

The Way of Steel:
Deep into the chasm is a path made of a net, clean cut, metal. No organic life can be seen down here... Some mechanical spiderlike spirits of the Stasis can be found hiding in the piles of junk lying in the main cave. Most of the crafted things lost in the umbra can be found here: umbrella, keys, socks, wallets, and many more, are pilling up to the celling. Everything seems antiseptic like in a sanitized office building. Searching inside the piles of discarded junk is a powerful compulsion in this place... Beware since it could be your doom! This place is the antechamber of the Mouth of the Wyrm one of the aspect of the Wyrm
System:
_Walking the Path require to roll Dexterity + Sports at difficulty -1
_Only 2 successes are required to find a lost artifact in the Abyss.
_Each time you search for some item at this depth roll for Willpower at difficulty 8. No successes imply you can’t leave on you own and start searching aimlessly in the piles of junk. On a botch a spirit is attracted.
Specific Denizen:
_Night Spirits - City (Umbra the Velvet Shadow p.111)
_Blight Spiders (Umbra the Velvet Shadow p.142) can be found down here along with any technologically outdated or flawed versions of the regular pattern spider.

The Way of Soil:
At this depth the Path become barely a trail of soil in the dark. This is the road of dead plants where u can reach to all the ones extinct or lost in the creation. It is a treacherous way since the loose mud covering the path makes the travel slippery. If you’re skilled enough to create a mindscape to escape the Abyss, after travelling deeper on the path try to picture the vegetation thickening to finally turn into a forest. After a while the path will become mere traces and the walker will enter a dreamscape. If you can’t do that be really careful: Malfeas is really close by…
System:
_Walking the Path requires to roll Dexterity + Sports at difficulty +1
_Only 2 successes are required to find a lost or dead plant in the Abyss.
_This sub-realm act as a gateway to the Atrocity realm in almost the same way the Garden of Nightmare do. They might be almost twin realms (Book of Wyrm 2ed p.40)
_In order to escape the realm through a mindscape check the rules regarding to the effects of light deprivation (cf. Luna).
Specific Denizens:
_Night Spirits - Forest environment (Axis Mundi p.65)
_Various kind of Naturae are fading into darkness down here. Some real Mandragore spirits can sometime be found along this path.
_Bl’Gothwu - Jaggling spirits made of piles of rotted kelp & tendrils can be found unleashing them on anyone close enough to attract their attention (blood dimmed tides p.100)
_Oases, Wyrmholes and Thunderwyrm are often found on this path trying to use the connection between Earth and the Abyss for their dark deeds (book of Wyrm: Thunderwyrm 2nd p.127; Oases 1st ed p.104; Wyrmhole 2nd ed p.104)

Spires, Suspires & Dark Epiphanies:
I have read the description Nehemiah (SoB p. 28-29) wrote of his failed attempt to reach Golconda and it seem to me he went through an Epiphany. He calls the process the "Suspire" and it seem to me a first hint that the Suspire has to go through a Spire in order to reach Golconda. It is likely that Golconda is an Epiphany at the top of the Spire of an ancient culture.... The real problem is to find the spire that lead there. As with many places in the High Umbra you must be in the right state of mind to access this particular Epiphany, the umbral courts won’t allow it. Maybe there are other spires that might lead you to different epiphanies according to the Road or path a vampire chose to follow in his life... The path of metamorphosis might lead to a similar epiphany while different in its purpose; Babylonian called this place Azhi Dahaka aka the Evil Dragon. Could the Abyss provide the same kind of enlightenment as Golconda? I believe there are hints pointing toward this conclusion. While the Abyss seems to go underground, the absence of spatial consistency in this dark realm could mean the way down is indeed a way up. The Abyss might be a reverse spire... But does that automatically imply you reach a reverse epiphany? The Nether World is an epiphany and it's also located both in the deep void and in the Abyss. How could that both be true? Anyway in the dark, the spatial directions are less important than the journey...

I told you Luna is the symbol of Arcadia and the Dreaming that runs through all the visible Umbra. On the contrary the Abyss is the symbol of the Nightmares that run through all Umbra’s shadows.
In a similar way that Luna has 3 aspects (a lifeless rock, a gate to the planets in the deep space and the realm of gods), Hell has 3 manifestations:
_The Tartar, a bottomless void aka the Chasm where Titans have been imprisoned by the Gods.
_The Idea of Hell: a gate to the High Umbra beyond the far horizon inside the deepest void leading to the countless black holes called the Nether Realms. Those are the Hells linked to human religions and beliefs.
_The Body of Hell: the Realm of the dark city of the Wyrm aka the dead body of Malfeas. This is the umbral reflection of the scar left by human on face of earth.

There’s a reason for those 3 aspects of the Abyss: it is because the Wyrm, Entropy or whatever you wish to call it, is divided in 3 main aspects:
_The Defiler Wyrm is the twisted reflection of the Wyrm itself. It is mostly remembered in human mythology as the serpent in the Garden of Eden or Lucifer. It is the lure for power, the seduction, and the insidious forces that affect someone silently from within. The Nether Worlds are the core manifestation of this aspect of the primordial Wyrm.
_Beast-of-War the Calamity Wyrm is the Wyld’s aspect of the Wyrm. Its embodiment is Malfeas, the undying city the symbol of the Wyrm’s undying rage against all creation… death included. From this Wyld and Destructive rage, the Underworld is often shacked by huge tempests and the Middle Umbra by devastating earthquakes and the.
_Eater-of-Souls, the Maw of the Wyrm or the Mouth of the Void is the aspect linked with the energy of the Weaver embodied by the apathy and the void that is brought by accumulation. Greed, desire obsessive preoccupations are his tools in order to fill the forever empty stomach that is the essence of the Void. In the Abyss it’s the place where the destructives energy of Entropy are turning life into a perfect dark stasis called the Void or Oblivion.

The Nether Worlds: Visions of Hell
Here is the realms of what humans calls Demons. It is dedicated to the corruption of the mind & it’s the embodiment of one of the 3 aspect of the Wyrm: the Defiler Wyrm, the perversion of the Wyrm’s own thought.
I possess a sample of the traditional description made by Oliver Hodge, member of the Saint Order of the Celestial Chorus... At first it made me smile. His description sounded like some kind of Christian Hell along with an amazingly small part of it dedicated to other religions. The only thing I saw that was worth of my interest was the mention of the "Tunnel Downward" leading to the caves of suffering and to the Plain of Penance. There through a miles long spiky iron wall you reach the Deep. A great pit - taking days to reach the bottom - composed of layer and layers of darkness pain and suffering. At the bottom is the Lake of Fire composed of the coldest water ever. At the center of the lake lay the court of the damned divided into different wards according to the hell it manifest. In the center of the city is the Cathedral of the Fall, a towering city of breathing darkness surrounded by a black wall in order to separate it from the rest of the city.
I suspect this entire story is what's called an epiphany as the absence of light when you travel in the deep void or the Abyss (but in the dark all things are the same) can make things really… real! Especially when you're only a thought... What can give us a hint that this was an epiphany in the middle of the Abyss was the fact the traveler kept mentioning the light that was guiding him in the darkness and the warm breeze running in the tunnel. You see there is no way he could have had any light at this depth. It doesn't work here since close by shadows tend to jump on it, devouring all the quintessence they can find in order to exist a bit longer. You see in here it's even worst to bring light since it could turn a mere shadow of your mind into a horrid reality. And you don't want to make real what's still not yet. To those who share the blood of Lasombra I recommend never to use a light here: the shades of the spirits of the lost ones would revoke the blissful ignorance they greets our kind with and curse you with all their undying hate...
The point is that In the End you only bring the shades of own demons with you!

I stopped smiling when I foresaw a possible future event; what if this collective illusion would be made real? What if a being so old that he's only remembered as a shadow in the collective mind would happen to rise from his grave? Would that event be able to shatter the bridge of despair? What if the light of the Luna was reaching to the bottom of the pit, giving its power to mere shades? Would all these "shades" of demons be able to roam freely?
I see such an event in the future, lots of dead in a drowning country. There the King of Nightmares rise, challenged by 3 shadows: the Dragon, the Crane and the Tiger. Over them a huge spider is trying to protect her web but each figure is tearing it as they fight. The biggest hole in the perfect pattern is around the king of nightmare as he reach through the web to bring shadows of old demons to his side. And he's warping each shade in the web he torn out in order to gives them more reality. Using all strings she could the spider tries to harness the power of the sun against these being but it does not work... Until a huge explosion shattered what remained of the last strands of web and the Nightmares will become real! May that vision stay a mere shadow.
System:
_Walking the Way of Gold might leads somehow to this place
_Into the Abyss is a ritual of the darkest Thaumaturgy that allows vampires to reach directly to the gates of the Nether Worlds (cf. Guide to the Sabbat p.104).
Denizens:
_Fallen Tempter (cf. V20 p.387).
_You could also use demons as they are described in “Kupala Devil’s Due”, “Infernalism the Path of Scream” or even “Demon the Fallen”.

Malfeas: Material Hell
While the Nether Worlds are the versions of hell shaped by humanity’s beliefs (and in return they’re slowly, silently shaping human beliefs) Malfeas is the embodiment of the rage the Wyrm felt against his own dying body. This rage became the triatic aspect of the Wyrm known as the Beast-of-War, the Calamity Wyrm. This is the actual Hell: Malfeas is the trace in the Umbra of the self-destruct instinct.
Castle Chtonus:
The Centre of Malfeas is a huge tower piercing through a low, oily sky. It’s the residence of the ruler of Malfeas, a being only known as Number Two. It is rumored that in the bottom of the dungeon, there is a pit leading through the way of steel to a place called the maw of the Consuming Wyrm: Eater-of-Souls.
When I discovered this truth an other revelation gave me a second hint at the Apocalypse: it showed me a tribe of Lupines calling themselves the Children of Gaïa freeing this aspect of the triatic Wyrm the Croatan – an other of their tribes - have sacrificed themselves to bound under New York, centuries ago. (cf. Apocalypse: Time of judgment p.93)
Suggested Denizen:
_ Earthbound Defiler in Darkness (cf. V20 p.387).
_Check the Book of Wyrm for more details on the wyrm spirits roaming in Malfeas

...the Umbral Abyss
The “place” known as the Abyss Realm, deep within the kindred-foreign spirit-world... ….on the other hand does, if my memory serves me correctly, have shadowy beings inhabiting it and in many ways it may be what the Discipline draws forth.

[the following was written by Agathe Ze Night] We are all
aware that there is a realm in “Umbra the Velvet Shadow”
that is obviously called the Abyss but in MtA this realm as an
other name: the Chasm (u can find it’s description in the
“Book of Worlds” p56). The fact that Nightmaster appears in
both book and that the chasm has also the way of gold, silver
and iron is imho a proof that they are one and the same.
The Chasm as presented in the Book of Worlds add the
bridge of despair, the description of 2 other paths (the Way
of Steel and the Way of Soil) and a bunch of detail
concerning the paths they share in common. It seem to me
as if the chasm is a cemetery of the memory, a place where
objects, plants, people & gods fade from memory:
• The Way of Gold leads to your own cemetery: Self-
destruction
• The Way of Silver lead to what I call the cemetery of
forgotten diety (Fae ? Could have something to do with the Kyasid)
• The Way of Iron leads to the the cemetery of
human, the low umbra through the black labyrinth of the Wyrm
• At one point there is the Bridge of Despair, which is
made of bones and causes deep depression (forbidding
anyone not able to resist it to leave the realm)
• The Way of Steel leads to, the cemetery of objects:
the lost & fond place of the umbra The Way of Soil leads to the cemetery of plants I belive the different "Way" are touching different aspect of the Umbra (like different levels of pressure within the darkness) That would make the Abyss a realm "in between" the other realm or at least "at the edge" of the other realms. The way of gold could be a lead to an Astral reach, to a reversed epiphany, to the Nihil or even (unlikely to happend) to the motherhood (see the Infinite Tapestry p93); the Way of Silver be connected to Arcadia or a least to the Arcadia gateway realm of the middle umbra; the Way of Iron to the Underworld; the Way of Steel seem close to the part of the penumbra where objects are lost, mostly in the city close to the weaver; while the way of Soil could lead close to the wild side of the penumbra... The Deep Caves share some resemblance with the description of the Null Zone. There could also be some resemblance with the Lasombra’s Abyss since it’s at the bottom of the realm and the darkness should be total, thick and heavy. The place u can observe through the widows seen in the caves is the earth seen through it’s shadows... It might be linked with the penumbra of the way of soil and the way of steel... Even though it seem easy for it’s inhabitant to leave the realm, but what really hold them in is the deep depression state felt by all his denizen which erase all will to leave... the perfect cell for infernal shades, long dead or the same: long forgotten... By the way the description of the Nether Realm (the astral Hell, aka known as the Nihil) in the “Book of Worlds”, p 35, mention that the entrance is made by “the tunnel downward”, “leading down into darkness” [this concludes Agathe's portion]