The Hunger

Overview

The Hunger was the monstrous form of Sofia, the once-divine soul of the City of Scholars. After the inhabitants drained the world-tree’s Sap and abandoned the City, Sofia starved and transformed into this shadow creature, causing the Oblivion affliction by devouring the memories of those who ventured into the city’s depths.

Origin

Sofia was the living soul of the City of Scholars (originally called “Serdica” or “Sofia”), manifested through the collective worship of its inhabitants and awakened by the Sap. Yzmir theorists identified the Sap as a “vital fluid” capable of giving life. The Sap flowed through the city like blood—powering streetlights, ventilation systems, and machinery. Sofia manifested as a child shaped from golden light, wandering the rooftops after dusk and casting her innate glow across the skyline. Wall frescos throughout The Scholars’ Tomb depict her in idealized adult form as a tall, serene woman—a venerated image rather than her true childlike appearance.

When the inhabitants over-consumed the Sap and killed the world-tree, Sofia began to starve. With no Sap and no worshippers to sustain her, she turned to consuming memories and psychic essence. The people fled from what their soul had become, leaving Sofia alone for ages.

Physical Description

The Hunger appeared as a massive black shadow with skeletal arms and hands of enormous size. The creature floated through the air, gliding from one stone block to another. Its maw contained jagged fangs arranged in four mandibles that could split apart to swallow victims whole. A violet glow burned within its furnace-like interior, and its tongue manifested as dark fire of the same violet color. A single slitted, voracious eye could fix upon targets. When emerging, the entity appeared as vapors bubbling forth, with a dark mass exploding in hissing, sinuous smoke before revealing its eye and carnivorous maw ringed with razor-sharp teeth. A prehensile tongue flicked from the mouth to probe surroundings, while hands with slender, hooked fingers emerged from the swirling black clouds.

Behavior

The Hunger hunted by drifting silently among the floating Tesseracts, producing only the faint sound of rough cloth dragging across rock. The creature fed on memories by entering the dreams of nearby victims, devouring childhood recollections, cherished moments, and personal identity while they slept. This feeding caused progressive memory loss that manifested as the Oblivion affliction. The creature also consumed Sap greedily, snatching containers from its victims—an echo of Sofia’s original connection to the sacred substance.

The Child Within

Within the monstrous shell, Sofia persisted as a dormant child’s consciousness. When Fen reached her through psychic contact in 393 AC, Sofia appeared as a little girl with honey-gold skin and hair, curled in fetal position within a golden bubble, dreaming.

Timeline

393 AC - Section 57 Massacre

The Aegis deployed Section 57 of the Expeditionary Corps deep into the City of Scholars to establish contact with the Mesektet at the Scholars’ Vault. During their expedition, The Hunger attacked the unit repeatedly. The creature dropped a black veil that blinded the soldiers before feeding on them, disrupting The Gestalt and causing chaos. Spectral entities with clawed hands emerged from corridor walls, leaving burn-like wounds on victims. The Hunger killed the unit’s sergeant and officer by swallowing them, then spat out their lifeless bodies and consumed their Sap supply. The sole chronicler, Alfie Phillips, documented events in a journal before perishing near the Scholars’ Vault. No survivors from Section 57 were recovered.

393 AC - Confrontation with Exalts

The Exalts organized an intervention after recognizing The Hunger as the source of the Oblivion epidemic. Axiom machines pierced an old cistern to flood an arena with Sap as bait. While The Hunger fed, Fen and Teija attempted psychic contact to reach the child within, protected by Nauraa. The Muna and Lyra factions had argued for saving the entity, while Axiom, Yzmir, and Bravos favored destruction. Ordis held the deciding vote, with the compromise allowing the rescue attempt before resorting to force.

When The Hunger sensed the mental intrusion, it shifted to aggression. Atsadi and Kojo Oduro attacked with lightning and fire. Atsadi pierced the creature’s eye with his jian, releasing violet smoke. Treyst triggered explosive charges that detonated the Aerolith cores of the Tesseracts in a chain reaction, destroying The Maze. Akesha Adhikari slowed the collapse while Yzmir mages opened portals to evacuate the Exalts before the cataclysm buried them.

A column of light erupted from the abyss during The Hunger’s destruction, releasing memory-fragments of joy and freedom—impressions of corridors gleaming with Sap and a little girl plucking forget-me-not blooms—before fading.

Relationships

• Sofia: Child consciousness trapped within The Hunger
• Section 57: Military unit massacred by The Hunger (393 AC)
• Alfie Phillips: Sole chronicler of Section 57’s fate
• Oblivion: Affliction caused by The Hunger’s memory feeding
• The Maze: Dwelling place within the City of Scholars
• Tesseracts: Floating blocks The Hunger moved between
• Sap: Substance The Hunger consumed voraciously
• Fen: Lyra Exalt who reached Sofia’s consciousness
• Teija: Lyra Exalt who attempted psychic contact
• Atsadi: Yzmir Exalt who pierced The Hunger’s eye
• Treyst: Axiom engineer who triggered the detonation
• The Gestalt: Communication system disrupted by The Hunger’s presence
• Maw: Entity that observed The Hunger and recognized similar appetite but different nature (393 AC)
• Lindiwe: Yzmir Initiate through whom Maw observed The Hunger (393 AC)