The spiritual forces of the universe are myriad and difficult to fully assess. Many of these forces often go by different names depending on who you query as to the nature and intent (some of the more animistic traditions ascribe passive will, if not intellect to these forces) of these forces. However, one force deserves particular attention, the force of destruction. However, even destruction or Entropy can be broken into separate forces and purposes. For the sake of our argument and purpose, we will divide destruction into two forces, Entropy as a corruptive force, and the destructive force of annihilation. For the remainder of the text, we will refer to corruptive Entropy by the name that the animist shamans do, the Wyrm. We will also refer to the force of annihilation as Oblivion for the sake of ease.
First, we must examine what the Wyrm is. To the animists, the Wyrm represents Entropy broken, natural destruction bent to an unnatural purpose. The Wyrm is an intelligent, active force pursuing the goal of corrupting and consuming all that exists before destroying itself. Rather than turning all of its own mighty powers to this end, the Wyrm corrupts lesser beings (spirits, mortals, etc.) to serve as proxies. The Wyrm grants a fraction of its power to these proxies to do its bidding but rarely checks their specific behavior. It has been said by captured beings who claim to serve it that the Wyrm is a cosmic power, its thoughts so vast and complex that every movement of its servants follows the Wyrm's strategy. It has been suggested to us by other parties that the Wyrm is so "insane" (if insanity can even be subscribed to such an entity) that it grants power and leaves questions of hierarchy and strategy to its inferiors.
Oblivion, by contrast, is a patient hunter. Spirits of the Underworld known as Spectres, Nephwracks, and Malfeans worship Oblivion and claim powers that resonate with the energy of Oblivion, however no one has ever claimed that Oblivion possesses an active will of its own. Oblivion does not seek out destruction, but waits for things to fall into its maw and be unmade. People, cities, even powerful spirits have fed Oblivion's seemingly insatiable appetite. Some fall into Oblivion, some are fed to it, but a disturbing number of beings willingly feed themselves to Oblivion. But why would they do this? The answer is simple. Nothingness brings peace, a nihilistic paradise in which pain, suffering, even thought no longer exist.
Some theorize on the relationship of the two clearly separate entities. Both the Wyrm and Oblivion destroy, however where the Wyrm destroys and leaves something twisted and corrupt in its wake, Oblivion leaves nothing but silence. Several occult scholars knowledgeable in the matters of these great powers have suggested that even the Wyrm itself once its task is complete, will seek peace within Oblivion's embrace of nothingness. Others have suggested that the Wyrm possesses the power to consume even Oblivion itself and that once all things are consumed by the Wyrm, it will "remake" existence to resemble its state prior to the Wyrm's corruption or futilely attempt to destroy the only thing that remains in existence; itself. A third, less popular theory states that the Wyrm and Oblivion are two halves of the same whole, active and passive destruction, both fulfilling their grand purpose while opposing and balacing each other. Wherever the truth lies, it is a fact that staring too long at destruction, whether it is called the Wyrm or Oblivion, tends to whet one's appetite for its seductive bounty.
