Abyssal Space[1], often simply referred to as the Abyss, is a plane that sits between and around planes.[2] Its relationship to other planes is described as that of a tesseract or hypercube,[3] and is mostly known for being the primary medium for teleportation magic and inter-planar travel.[4][5]
History
Prior to the Third Age, the Abyss was once an empty void described as "an empty nothingness".[6][7] However, sometime during the God Wars, the abyss became home to an unfathomably large chthonian demon named Hostilius, and parts of the Abyss that have been visited by the player are in fact inside his body.[8][9]
The Abyss is described as a 'glue' that holds all planes together, yet separate,[10] and as a result exists at the 'fringe' of reality,[11] where it defies the laws of time and space that apply on other planes.[12][13] While teleportation spells make use of the Abyss, teleporting directly to it is difficult to do intentionally,[14] and leaving it also appears to be difficult without sufficient teleportation energy.[15][16]
Proper access to the Abyss was recently established by the Zamorak Magical Institute after an accidental teleportation failure,[17] and was accomplished by an initiate purposely "failing" a teleport spell and arriving at the Abyss, who then cast a portal spell to establish a link between Gielinor and the Abyss.[18][19] Despite this, there are other means of permanent access to other parts of the Abyss, such as the fairy ring network.
Some monsters in the Abyss have grown an unusual weakness to Shadow spells, such as the Abyssal Sire and The Leviathan. The reason behind this is unknown.
Areas
There are several areas of Abyssal Space that the player can currently access.
Runic Rifts
Described as being around the stomach or heart of Hostilius,[20] this part of the Abyss is where the Zamorak Magical Institute accesses to teleport directly to the temples housing the runic altars. The outer ring is accessed via the Mage of Zamorak, though aggressive abyssal creatures will attack players upon arrival.
The inner ring contains the rifts that access the runic altars, and the Z.M.I. initiate maintaining the connection that allows teleportation into this area of the Abyss is found here as well.
Abyssal Area
A part of the Abyss that can only be accessed by using the code ALR in the fairy rings network. Uniquely, abyssal demons can be found in this section of the Abyss alongside other abyssal creatures.
Abyssal Nexus
Described as the lungs of Hostilius,[20], this part of the Abyss is occupied by Abyssal Sires, extremely dangerous demons who constructed the Nexus to sustain themselves. The Overseer, who broke through the Abyss in search of allies during the God Wars, became trapped here due to a lack of teleportation energy.
The Scar
Described as the brain of Hostilius,[20] this part of the Abyss is supposedly the most dangerous. The Scar is accessible through a rift in the Temple of the Eye during and after Desert Treasure II - The Fallen Empire. It contains a large body of water guarded by The Leviathan. The rift to the Scar was once sealed off, but has reopened and must be periodically closed by the Guardians of the Rift.
The Scar essence mine is located here, where players can mine tainted essence chunks in exchange for extracts usable in Runecrafting via the Ventriculus.
References
- ^ "Abyssal book". Old School RuneScape. "Despite having finally gained access to the strange dimension known as the Abyss (also referred to as Abyssal Space or the Abyssal Plane), we have found the area to still be something of an enigma."
- ^ Mage of Zamorak. Old School RuneScape. "It is a hard place to describe. We often refer to it as another plane, but that isn't quite accurate. If anything, it is more like a plane that sits between all other planes."
- ^ "Abyssal book". Old School RuneScape. "...the Abyss is somewhat of a tesseract or hypercube with a direct relation to our dimension."
- ^ Mage of Zamorak. Old School RuneScape. "It [the Abyss] can be used as an effective hub for teleportation. In fact, all teleportation that we know of uses the Abyss, you just don't realise it."
- ^ Mage of Zamorak. Old School RuneScape. "Whenever you use a teleport spell, that spell is actually travelling through the Abyss and using it to link two places together."
- ^ "Gooey note". Old School RuneScape. "He referred to the Abyss as an empty void, calling the horrors around us invaders. According to him, even the ground we stand on is not of this realm, and that everything we see is a recent addition to what was once an empty nothingness."
- ^ Mod Ed. Desert Treasure II Lore Q&A Livestream. 3 August 2023. "Every time we've gone to the Abyss, we basically introduce a different body part. This was covered in the quest a little bit. There’s a few little notes that talk about it a bit more. The Abyss itself is just that; it's an abyss, it's just this big, empty space. Whenever you travel to the Abyss, you're actually travelling to the inside of the body of this giant demon that's trapped there."
- ^ "Gooey note". Old School RuneScape. "He claimed the confrontation with the beast had brought about a realisation. He knew why the Abyss had changed. Why it looked the way it did. There's a reason why this place feels alive, and that's because it is. We thought we were facing horrors of darkness in this place, but the truth is far worse: We're inside one!"
- ^ "Q&A Summary 10/02/2022". RuneScape News. Jagex. 15 February 2022. Archived from the original. "The Abyss or at least a part of The Abyss the player visits in Old School are inside Hostilius' body. I think you probably get that vibe from the way it all looks."
- ^ "Abyssal book". Old School RuneScape. "The Abyss seems to be a strange dimension that sits between all other planes. In some ways, the Abyss acts as a 'glue' that holds all planes together, yet keeps them separate, if you will."
- ^ "Abyssal book". Old School RuneScape. "...the Abyss exists at the 'fringe' of reality, meaning that it does not conform to the same guidelines of space and time observed on Gielinor, or indeed on other planes."
- ^ Mage of Zamorak. Old School RuneScape. "You see, time and space work differently in the Abyss. For example, you can travel to the Abyss, walk a few steps and then exit, only to find yourself somewhere completely different from where you entered. You might even find yourself on a different plane. You can also enter the Abyss and spend days there, but on your return, only moments have passed."
- ^ "Overseer's book". Old School RuneScape. "Although time does not pass in the Abyss at the same rate that it passes elsewhere, I have been imprisoned for an unimaginably long time, since the days when the gods fought for dominion of the mortal realm."
- ^ "Abyssal book". Old School RuneScape. "...our gaining access to the Abyss was somewhat of a fluke, and a not easily repeatable fluke at that. Due to the Abyss not being a plane in the traditional sense, we have also had to resort to unusual measures to gain permanent access."
- ^ The Overseer. Old School RuneScape. "We broke through to the Abyss, seeking allies for our cause, but instead I ended up a prisoner in this place, unable to leave, while the God Wars continued without me."
- ^ The Overseer. Old School RuneScape. "Bringing me those body parts from the Sires has now granted me enough teleportation energy to leave this living hell hole."
- ^ "Abyssal book". Old School RuneScape. "...it was only recently that we finally discovered a way to enter this strange realm. The discovery came by complete chance, when a routine teleportation experiment seemingly went wrong."
- ^ "Abyssal book". Old School RuneScape. "We then had them [initiates] repeatedly teleport to various locations, seeking to replicate the original error that caused the first entry into the Abyss. Once one of our initiates had managed to 'fail' his teleport and appear in the Abyss he was then charged with remaining there and holding a portal spell open so that more senior members of the Z.M.I. could gain entry."
- ^ Dark Mage. Old School RuneScape. "By remaining here and holding this rift open, I am providing a permanent link between normal space and this strange dimension. As long as my spell remains in effect, we have the capability to teleport into the Abyss."
- ^ 20.0 20.1 20.2 Mod Ed. Desert Treasure II Lore Q&A Livestream. 3 August 2023. "For the original area of the Abyss you go to, where you've got the portals to the runecrafting altars, we imagined that we're in the heart, or the stomach maybe. Then you've got the area where you fight the Sire; those are very clearly the lungs. Then this [the Scar] is now the brain."
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