Dark Tapestry

Dark Tapestry

(Cosmos)

Type

Darkness between the stars

Inhabitants

Outer Gods and Great Old Ones; Dominion of the Black

For another meaning of "Dark Tapestry", please see Dark Tapestry (fiction).

Little is known of the Dark Tapestry—the darkness between the stars where inhabitants of Golarion believe true madness lies. The few beings able to survive in the vast, cold void of space are too alien for even the gods to comprehend, and present one of the greatest threats to the known universe should they wish to do so.

Inhabitants

Gods of the Dark Tapestry, known as the Elder Mythos, form two categories, in so far as such chaos might be categorized: the Outer Gods and the Great Old Ones. The Outer Gods are equivalent to true deities, whereas the Great Old Ones are less powerful: more akin to demigods, like the archdevils and demon lords. The Great Old Ones respect the Outer Gods and may be seen as heralds or high priests of their greater kind. For mortals, though, the differences between cults of gods of either category is practically meaningless.

The ancient, eldritch horrors of the Dark Tapestry are beings of immense power who—luckily—have thus shown little interest in Golarion or her solar system. Were the Great Old Ones ever to devote even a fraction of their attention to this corner of space, it could very well end existence as gods and mortals know it. While some crazed cultists and power-hungry arcanists contact aspects of the cosmic beings in the hopes that they can harness their cyclopean might for their own purposes. None can control the raw chaos these forces bring, however, and destruction and madness are the ultimate results.

Osirian legends speak of the mysterious Dominions of the Black and their possible connection to the enigmatic planet of Aucturn. Members of the mythical Dominion serve as emissaries and heralds of their unknowable masters and are said to reside among the darkness between the stars, sustained by the very forces that drive them to madness.

While most who know of the Dark Tapestry assume its denizens reside unimaginable distances away in the void of space, one such race of beings builds an empire beneath their very feet. Xoarians of the Darklands are thought to have come from the Dark Tapestry eons ago, though what their ultimate goals and motivations are or were remains a mystery only pondered by the bravest of souls. Similarly there is speculation that the gigantic tentacled creature known as the havero may originate from one of the far corners of the Dark Tapestry.

Known texts

There are few known works discussing the Dark Tapestry. Notably is a work of starry observations and occult lore entitled On Verified Madness. In addition, a quasi-text of hieroglyphic formulas entitled The Last Theorem relates to the subject of the Aucturn Enigma, which is in turn believed to mysteriously tie in to the Dark Tapestry and the Dominions of the Black. The dark text implies that alien visitors aided the Ancient Osirians in creating their empire, and these aliens were in fact emissaries from the Dominion of the Black.

Symbology

A symbol used by the Dominion of the Black for representing the Dark Tapestry is a strange tangle of tentacle shapes.

Cultists and summoning activity

An order of Thassilonian wizards known as the Thrallkeepers sought to conjure malignant monstrosities to impress the Runelord Karzoug. Evidence exists that the Thrallkeepers may have called forth one or more creatures from the Dark Tapestry in ancient times well before the Earthfall. In modern times a cult known as the Night Heralds is feared to have attempted to contact beings located in the Dark Tapestry. In particular, the Night Heralds have an interest in a mysterious entity named Tychilarius.

References

For additional as-yet unincorporated sources about this subject, see the Meta page.