A crystal order bound to entropy and endings—guardians of the lawful dissolution that all things owe the dark.
Dominion of the Void
Mastery over entropy and endings—the lawful dissolution that all things owe the dark.
The Varkhûn are reptilian and immense, their bodies plated in obsidian-scaled armor that absorbs light rather than reflects it. Their eyes glow faintly red, not with fire, but with the slow embers of dying stars. Native to collapsing systems and entropy-scarred worlds, they evolved alongside decay rather than resisting it.
To the Varkhûn, destruction is not evil—it is obligation. They believe the universe must be allowed to end things properly. Civilizations that refuse to die, timelines stretched too long, beings that cheat death or time—these are violations of cosmic law.
They do not conquer chaotically. They close chapters.
Every use brings them closer to the Void they serve. Varkhûn elders eventually fade into nothing—not death, but completion.
In Book 2, Vear’s choice to pursue the hidden Automaton beneath the ore mines of Nyra leads him far from the known tunnels and into abandoned shafts and forgotten corridors. Guided deeper still, he is brought into a sealed chamber buried within the planet’s crust. The space feels deliberate—constructed not for miners, but for memory. Its walls are covered in spiraling inscriptions, symbols layered upon symbols, depicting the intertwined histories of the Skybound and the Earthborn. Though Vear senses their importance, the language remains alien to him, shaped by minds that did not think in human terms.
When Vear admits he cannot decipher the inscriptions, the Automaton steps forward and begins to translate. What it reveals is a long-buried history: the arrival of the Crystal Wielders on Edson. They came not as conquerors, but as teachers and architects, shaping a new world and offering humanity tools, knowledge, and guidance meant to foster balance rather than control. For a time, humans thrived under this instruction. But the teachings were misappropriated—used to dominate rather than harmonize, to extract rather than preserve. In response, the Crystal Wielders withdrew from Edson entirely, vowing never again to share their wisdom with humanity. As the Automaton finishes reading, Vear understands that the path he has chosen has placed him at the edge of a truth humanity was never meant to reclaim—and that the consequences of rediscovering it may echo far beyond Nyra.