The Void is a timeless alternate reality connected with the familiar Material Realm.
¶ Connection with the Material Realm
The Void and the Material Realm are connected to each other through the Souls of living creatures, as they exist in the Material Realm and the Void simultaneously. The connection between the Void and the Material Realm within a Soul is called a Gate.
Energy flows through these connections between the Material Realm and the Void. Psykers are able to control their connection and harness this energy to produce various Powers.
¶ Tears
In addition to the persistent connections via Souls, other connections can be formed without the mediation of a Soul. These include Psychic Overloads, natural Void Eruptions and manufactured Tears.
Manufactured tears are used by humans for two purposes. First, as energy flows through connections between the Void and the Material Realm, it can be used like any other source of power. Void-reactors deliberately create tears and harness this energy to provide the massive amounts of power needed for faster-than-light (FTL) travel. Due to the instability of tears unmediated by Souls, these reactors are very large to provide the necessary stability. Small reactors do not have the space to stabilise and thus create unstable tears that destroy everything around them.
The destruction caused by tears can be extreme and are capable of destroying any material of Tier 3 and lower. Nulls appear to have a mediating effect on tears, as their presence is used to prevent the damage from a Psychic Overload.
¶ Travel
In addition to Void-reactors, even larger tears can be created by Void-Tear-Generators. These generators open controlled tears large enough for spaceships to travel through and enter the Void. The timeless nature of the Void allows ships that enter the Void to traverse large distances at speeds faster than light.
¶ The Call of the Void
The Soul's presence in the Void influences human thought. For most people, it manifests as an inner voice that suggests dangerous actions. It encourages reckless behaviour, especially that which causes self harm.
For Psykers, the inner voice is far stronger, becoming an ever more constant presence as they become stronger. As a Psyker's power grows, the Call of the Void also grows stronger, making it harder to resist. The combination of stronger and more frequent self-destructive urges causes essentially all Psykers to die of misadventure.
There are three responses that people may take in response to the Call.
- Resist or ignore the Call. Anyone can do this. The higher a person's Resolve Attribute, the easier this is. Conversely, the wider a Psyker's Gate is open, the more difficult.
- Give in to the Call. So long as the action suggested by the Void is survivable, or more dangerous to an enemy than yourself, giving in is simple and frequently satisfies the Call for a meaningful duration. Again, anyone can do this.
- Close their Gate. Because the Gate is a person's conduit to the Void, closing it completely also silences the Call completely. A person must be aware of their Gate in order to close it, and the Gate resists closure while the person is experiencing the Call. For Psykers, this comes with the usual penalties for having a closed Gate, so can be dangerous in combat.
¶ Inhabitants
The inhabitants of the Void are called Void Daemons. Their diet is immaterial, and includes emotions and Souls. Like integrated beings, they are ranked in Tiers, with the power level of a Void Daemon being roughly equivalent to Integrated people at the same Tier. As such, military doctrine demands at least two Integrated warriors of the same Tier to reliably repel a Void Daemon, and a full squad to do so safely.
Canidae are tier 3 or 4 Void Daemons known to prolong the death of the souls they prey on in order to consume the maximum amount of emotion.