Void energy

The corruption of vital essence through unholy necromancy at or after the point of a creature's death can subvert the destructive powers of void energy to instead create undeath.

See also: Negative and undeath

For other meanings of "void", please see void (disambiguation).

Void energy, also known as negative energy, is a form of metaphysical power that is the counterforce of vitality, the energy of life. It does harm to most living creatures but can heal many undead creatures. It is native to the Void and can be drawn into other planes.

Void energy, representing the aspect of destruction in the natural cycle of essences, serves an opposite purpose as vitality, which represents the aspect of creation. Both void and vitality energies can be applied toward both evil and good, or both unholy and holy, purposes; void energy itself does not possess any inherent morality.

Exposure

Void as harm

Void energy is naturally harmful to living beings and other entities animated by vitality. For example, the void energies inherent to an astradaemon's natural assaults drain away both the spiritual and vital essences of a living creature, while the void energies in the kiss of a succubus drain a living creature's vital essence.

Void as healing

Where exposure to void energy does harm to living creatures animated by vitality, certain creatures—often undead creatures or otherwise inherently connected to void energy—are instead healed when exposed to void energy. Some, but not all, creatures healed by void energy—undead in particular—can likewise be harmed by exposure to vitality.

Dhampirs are rare mortal beings who, despite themselves not being undead, are still healed by exposure to void energy but harmed by exposure to vitality. Even rarer are creatures who can choose whether to be healed by void or vitality energies, such as the Grim Reaper and the related lesser deaths.

Role in undeath

The corruption of vital essence through unholy necromancy at or after the point of a creature's death can cause void energy to be used against its nature, resulting in the unnatural creation of undeath rather than the natural destruction of life. This perversion of the natural order can animate remains even when they lack musculature, grant senses despite lacking the requisite organs, and manifest in the undead creature's behavior as an instinctual drive to perform evil acts.

For example, a skeleton's movement is animated by void energy, while a crawling hand can become animated and gain sentience by simply being a creature's severed appendage in a location associated with the Void.

Void energy sustains creatures such as wights in ways that prevent their bodies from breaking down under harsh conditions.

A necromancer can also overload undead beings with void energy until they explode in bursts of void energy.

Sensory manifestations

Creatures that can sense the presence of life can perceive and distinguish between void and vitality energies in a similar manner as how colors of light are distinguished by vision.

In magic

See also: Category:Void spells

Void energy can be magically channeled into other creatures.

In magic items

See also: Category:Void items

The soul cage of an undead lich is infused with void energy.

In technology

Moritypes are a form of photographic krasovnatype gadget imprinted with void energy from the death by electrocution of a creature, typically an insect or mouse exposed to a Stasian coil.

In the Great Beyond

Void energy is native to its namesake plane of the Void, and is also common in the Netherworld due to its proximity to the Void. Shadows are undead creatures of the Netherworld whose mere touch is infused with void energy.

Aeons

Akhanas are aeons who employ void energy to cryptically destroy life, often with such carelessness that they create undeath. An akhana's tail is composed of void energy, which it uses to rapidly drain the life of a creature in its grasp, but the cryptic aeons are just as capable of creating new life through vitality, as long as it ultimately results in a balance.

Pleromas also wield both vitality and void as manifestations of both creation and destruction, and create spheres of vitality or void energy to spread either creation or oblivion as they see fit.

Norns

The actions of a norn to sever the fate of a mortal creature manifest as void-infused harm.