Weaving - Mortuum Priums - 1

The Dead Progenitor Expedition - Lead Researcher Jacklyn Spearhead’s Log - Day 146

The Mortuum Primus is indescribable. Unfortunately, describing it is the very task I’ve set out to do. My first three days in orbit consisted exclusively of staring wide-eyed, or tearing half-written pages out of my journal and casting them into the Astral Sea. I’m plagued by aphasia and awe. My vocabulary completely lacks the required terminology. Calling it “vast”, “eldritch”, or “divine” only points a finger in the direction of the necessary words which have yet to be invented. The only thing more immense that I can conceive of is space itself. An unfair comparison, but the best I can do to illustrate the sheer enormity of what I am witnessing. The fact our terrestrial telescopes haven’t registered the object speaks wonders about Scarlet Nebula’s obfuscating properties. In my travels, I’ve observed extraordinary cosmic entities, bizarre alien peoples, and twisted arcane worlds that have forced me to restructure my understanding of The Cosmos. This was all dwarfed by my arrival here. 

To witness the corpse of the progenitor god Goh’zul, a Wielder of First Power, is like peering through reality’s keyhole and catching an afterimage of how all this came to be. Primordial splendor. I still cannot visualize a place or phenomenon that would spawn a being like this. However, imagining Goh’zul and entities like him skimming across the emptiness of space, painting The Cosmos with stars, planets, and realms, is not a far step from the sight before me. It’s as nauseating as it is beautiful.

I previously used the term “orbit” to describe our current bearing. While technically true, I feel it does not encapsulate what is currently happening. We are certainly within the entity’s orbit, but still very much on approach and have been for the past three days. To put that into perspective, this speed of travel would get one from Vega-5 to Sargasso in less time than it would take to make a cup of tea. The view is life-changing– but it’s still like waiting for a pot to boil. Professor Hal estimates his Gate Engine will get us close enough for early empirical observations in the next few days. Though even the Grand Physic seems to be doubting himself. It’s particularly challenging to measure. Space, Gravity, and Time are always warped near a realm and The Mortuum Primus is the realm of realms. Additionally, all our calculations are based on The Law of Familiarity. Efficacy of magic and science scale with understanding. Both literally and figuratively. Being this far from The Crimson Enclave, or “The Known Galaxy” as many of our people still call it, makes folding space-time far more challenging than it already is.

Fortunately, this is not an uncommon hurdle for most worthwhile expeditions. Those who regularly astronavigate through deep Wildspace or the depths of the Scarlet will all tell you the same thing. Though, you’d likely have a hard time finding the latter. Traveling within the Scarlet Nebula is still considered suicide by most. However, this is based on old ways of thinking and superstition. Nowadays there are fairly decent star charts (thanks to our captain) and an encouraging amount of waystops within The Red. Sadly, affording resupplies in such places is a death of its own kind. To put it another way, popping in and out of The Scarlet Nebula on expedition is a more than feasible task. I should know as I have made a career of it. 

Nevertheless, traveling across The Scarlet Nebula is an entirely different beast. A task very fairly described as suicidal. Dozens have tried, but you can count the number of voyages that have successfully exited the nebula’s furthest side on a single hand. Three different expeditions made by two separate Spelljammers. Or two and a half depending on who you ask.

 One vessel, The Urd’s Call, crossed the border on its first expedition but never returned. Its wreckage was found floating in the orbit of The Mortuum Primus during a rescue mission made by the more successful vessel. The crew of The Urd’s Call were nowhere to be seen and there were no signs of a struggle. While eerie and dissuading, The Mortuum Primus must be explored. My expedition is the third time this “more successful vessel” has ventured into this region of space. It’s said to be the strongest and fastest spelljammer in The Known Galaxy. It’s no easy task to convince the captain and crew of The Dawnbreaker to lend their services. Fortunately, when you are royalty, the star pupil of Grand Physic Andro Hal, and the daughter of Master Sam Spearhead, batting your eyelashes can go a long way.