Is madness real, or is it all in the mind? Read on, and decide for yourself, gentle reader, whether what I shall tell you now is the simple truth, or the ravings of a madman. It all depends what you believe.
I have dwelt in Khalkan-Jho, and have looked out from its lazy towers across the Shining Sea. On the far side of that bright and vasty deep broods a dark shore. I have set foot in the Domain of Nightmare. The journey through KASHAT's kingdom is best not described. Beyond it lies the Realm of Madness.
Between the Dreamworlds and Chaos, the Realm of Madness may be reached from either, by Dreaming or by ChaosWalking. It may also be entered directly from the Real World, either in the mind (as with Spiritual Dreaming) or in body (as with Physical Dreaming). The Isle of the Lost in the Sea of Mizzin in the Underworld is one place where the Realm intersects with Reality. The depths of the North West Forest in the Overworld are another (and were especially so in the time of the Dark Forest). To Cast Spells into or out of it counts as a Plane Change, but it may be entered seamlessly (with no Plane Change 2/3 ratio to Spells) from the Dreamworlds or from Chaos.
YHWRC, Demigod of Madness, is the unruly Master of the Realm. Also influential in the Realm are the Demons of Madness: LAMMIA, G/C Demon of Delirium, ULULO, N/C Demon of Mania, RABBAT, N/C Demon of Delusion, MORCOR, E/C Demon of Despair, and SURGAT, N/L Demon of Prophecy. In the minds of the Mad They are worshipped as Gods. To set eye upon one of Them, or to hear Its screams, causes a Saving Throw vs Madness, as does an encounter with certain of Their creatures.
Madness is not an Art, as are Dreaming or ChaosMastery. It is a state of mind. The physicians and Clerics of the Empire of Law have classified Insanity by Ten Levels, from Insanity Level 1 (a mild state of Delusion in the Waking World) to Level 10 (full blown Delirium, Mania or Despair, when the subject's mind wanders Lost in the Realm of Madness). I tell you now that there are Levels of Insanity beyond the wildest imaginings of those stolid scribes.
Insanity may be caused by Blowback of Elementalist Spells, by Cause Madness Spells, or by the failure of a Saving Throw vs Madness. Or one may simply let go of reason, and abandon oneself to Madness. It may be dispelled by Cure Madness Spells, or one may simply find one's own way out.
To enter the Realm is to accept one or more Levels of Insanity. The intrepid (or lunatic) explorer of unreason may accept further Levels to go deeper into the Realm, or may attempt to return to sanity by seeking the path to lesser Levels of Insanity, which eventually leads back to reason. But it is a difficult and dangerous path. Though it may readily be followed deeper into Madness (and the traveller will be faced with Saving Throws against going deeper), it can be hard to find one's way out. The prepared walk the Way of the Lost with suitable protections: a Mind Bar or similar.
Thus have I been deep into the Realm of Madness, and have emerged to tell my tale. Yet what I may have witnessed there is best not described. I shall never be the same wolf as I once was.
Enter the Dark Forest
Sink into the Dark Badlands of the Soul
Go to the Madness System
Return to Sanity
© P.R. Wild, 25 October 1999