What is Doomsday?




The general and accepted definition for Doomsday is "the day when Oblivion devours everything." While that's usually enough to answer most questions, right then and there, a wraith with a more inquisitive mind - and, one presumes, a less faint heart - might inquire as to the specifics of that devouring. And, more often than not, the inquirer would be told to not dwell on the subject any further, lest the servants of the Void be listening.

The truth, if it could be told, is that no one really knows what form The End may take. It's the sort of question that has perplexed Underworld philosophers and Obliviographers since the First Great Maelstrom, spawning even more questions and controversies as it rolls down the ages. {And, just like any other form of academic doomsayerism, there are those who will be more than happy to shriek "I told you so" as their pet theory is proven all-too-correct}

Though it sounds quite trite, it's all too true that the only thing not in doubt about Doomsday is the reality of its approach.

It can't be stated enough that the pull of Oblivion is ever-present in the Underworld. Its touch taints all things, its effects can be felt by all senses and its influence grows with each passing day, as does its girth. And as each and every wraith has a walking piece of that Void right inside them - the Shadow - the pull of Oblivion can be felt both without and within.

In that sense, it's almost impossible to deny the approach of the End Times. Everyone knows it's coming, someday, and everyone knows it's real. And this has led most people to turn a blind eye to its fits and starts, given that they see the glass getting grimier by the minute. Like crabs in slowly heating water, they don't know enough to panic until they're halfway cooked in the shell.


Everyone?

Well, okay - not everyone. There are a few wraiths to be found who steadfastly refuse to believe in Doomsday. And most of them are treated much like mortals tend to treat those who insist that the world is flat.

Some of the nay-sayers are extreme deniers of reality who won't agree to anything that belittles or disproves their point of view, even when astronomically huge piles of proof are laid out for them to see. Others are stubborn to the point of arrogance, and still others are either woefully ignorant, or else terribly certain that whatever measures they've put in place

And who knows? They may yet be right. The irony is that they'll probably not survive long enough to see it for the cataclysms...



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