#destiny void

Decided to take my own stab at Void sickness since the idea has been simmering in my head for a while, and I've recently seen an uptick in posts about Void-related effects (listed below).

general traits || super effects || Frenzies || Void sickness by @great-shot-terrible-gambler || Void sickness by @songs-of-future-past

As I previously mentioned in "RZ and the Void," my headcanon is that Void users have (2) main stereotypes: empty (tired, hungry, emotionally drained) and devouring (eating, sleeping, and/or seeking fulfillment). These wouldn't apply to all users ofc, but it got me thinking:

What would happen if the Void was overused?

In my opinion, Lightbearers who exclusively use Void are exempt from most of its ill effects. Yes, they still need to anchor themselves to avoid losing their identity, but they never lose control of their Light. Lightbearers who predominantly use Void, but also use other paracausal powers, are still susceptible to Void sickness but rarely experience it.

For everyone else, Void sickness would come in (3) stages: Hunger, Starvation, and Famine.

Hunger is the most common form of sickness, and the easiest to overcome. Just like physical hunger, symptoms include low energy, cramps, cravings, and general irritability. Supers require more Light to cast; class abilities take longer to recharge; Void Breaches occur more often, but are less effective. Void users are encouraged to switch to Solar, rest, and eat but not overeat.

Symptoms usually resolve within a few hours to a few days, depending on circumstances.

Apparently he almost dropped his controller.

♠️ ‘ ‘ Some of us.. touch the void.. make it apart of us… … … Then we take on a name… Nightstalker…’ ‘

{ Void users within the Darkage, Tevis Larsen and Andal Brask. }

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⚜️ ‘ ‘ His body is cold.. not usually that..cold.. as I wield what is left of my fallen brother.. I only pray to the traveler above… that I won’t.. go under..’ ‘

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🃏 I hope you guys enjoy these newly finally updated designs of Andal and Tevis of our Hunter crew. I know they are different than the comics or slight official designs in game but I wanted to have fun with these. When I first started this blog I didn’t know how to design Tevis and Andal so I used as a placeholder the designs from the artist @sylenth-l ( amazing work please go check them out). So now these are MY official designs for the Raincloud and Sunshine Boys. NOW- some headcanons of the Sickness AU’s world of Void based users- well atleast for these two.

How the Void works in this AU:

Void isn’t a common thing to gain within this universe especially in the darkage, you would need to gain it either by fully subcoming to the fine line between light and dark or picking it up from another Void user. The Void is more cold and numbing in this AU, and usually distorting the light, kinda like an ever growing battle of light and dark within their bodies. With this the user with experience high levels of possible insomnia, night-terrors, and even hallucinations of the ones that was before them ( only if they picked up the void from someone else). Void usually locks/tethers to certain parts of the user’s body causing those points to be fully numb compared to the fade towards the chest which feels more line pin and needles ( aka foot tingle tingle feeling)

Tevis - Tevis in this AU used to be an Arc based hunter, but due to his body not being able to fully control the current of the Arc he had gained lightning scars of where Arc usually sits on a person ( arms and legs), When covering them up with interesting tattoos, it actually blended the tattoos and scars within the light/darkness in his body. With this causing the “eyes” of his arms and legs to pulse with void whenever he is mad, or goes for a shot with his bow.

Andal - Andal was a Solar Hunter in the AU before picking up void, the help of solar aided him actually being able to control it. Causing it also be formed into a more solid/collected form of 2 blades. He also has less likely the changes of the void creeping up through his scars and/or mouth like Tevis’s smoke. But the void has caused some of Andal’s hair to start slowly turning gray due to the constant stress of the nightmares.

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GEEZUMS OK-

so um.

for me to talk about my headcanons for Void Frenzies, I gotta first talk about the Void and how it relates to Nightstalkers especially, cause, y'see-

The Void is a quirky lil thing.

There are numerous accounts and lore bits that talk about how the Void is, even though it's technically Light, almost like an entity unto itself.

"...I've discovered another little trick to getting in good with that yawning mouth of nothing we call the Void: exhaustion. When I start slipping into that twilight, where I'm not sure if I'm awake or dreaming, I can feel the absence. It's close enough to touch. I guess it doesn't matter if it's literal or metaphorical. The Void just likes it when I'm running on empty." - Nightstalker

"The Void ain't special. It sure is creepier than Solar or Arc, that's for sure. But it isn't special. Just show it respect, thank it for a lovely evening, and make sure you always pay your bill. So to speak. Then you've got nothing to worry about. See?" - Shard of the Traveler (Nightstalker)

"There are those who see the Void as dark. It is the folly of the simple mind, unable to perceive the brilliant richness of nothingness. The Void is not only the absence of Light, but Dark..." - Apotheosis Veil

Even further, countless lore tabs talk about the risks of using the Void and the reasons why it can be detrimental to use, especially for Nightstalkers, who balance on the knife's edge of powers and abilities that could prove to be exceptionally dangerous if not exercised with paramount discipline:

"I've had a dozen Hunters ask me why it's so hard to summon a Dusk Bow. I asked 'em what they thought of the Void, and their eyes told me everything. You can't be afraid. That's the secret. No fear." - Tevis, Log Entry 19338

"Picking it up is the easy part, Hunter. Putting it down again, well, you’ll find that it’s addictive, that power. This weapon is something special. Your Light gets twisted. Changed. You find the power to punch through and borrow something from the other side. The Void opens up a hole, and draws from the deep. Go ahead. Carry it a while, Hunter. You’ll feel how heavy it can get.” - Cayde-6, The Nightstalker's Trail

"Doesn't matter how good you are—you stay out there too long, you're not coming back. Not the same way you left, anyway." - Tevis Larsen, Graviton Forfeit

So I asked myself, what happens when a Guardian does go too far into the Void? What happens when the Void they take from finally decides to take something back?

And that's when the idea of Void Frenzies came to me.

So, how do they work?

I imagine they happen to Nightstalkers more often than Sentinels or Voidwalkers just due to the nature of their class and how it works, as well as my own personal knowledge being more expansive when it comes to the Void subclass for Hunters compared to Void Titan and Warlock. So for brevity's sake, I'm going to solely be referring to Nightstalkers for this. Although y'all can feel free to add on your own thoughts on how this might happen for Sentinels and Voidwalkers!

There are a few ways that Void Frenzies can be triggered, but more often than not they tend to be caused when a Nightstalker overtaxes themselves and overuses their Void without giving themselves room to breathe or time to calm down. Huge bouts of emotional turmoil and/or copious amounts of stress can also make a Nightstalker more susceptible to snapping thus triggering a Void Frenzy.

The telltale signs of a Void Hunter experiencing stress that, if it becomes uncontrollable, could lead to a Void Frenzy are as follows:

Living things such as trees, flowers and grass begin to die and wilt around them and any living creature feels like its energy is being siphoned from their body, mirroring the effects of the power we know as Devour.

The temperature of the air around them suddenly drops and turns stagnant. It's not just cold, it's also thick and musty. Unnaturally still. Entropic. Dead.

Void energy begins to course along their arms and face. It creeps under their skin like dark tendrils that they seem to be unable to control, as if it's infecting their very body. The Light underneath the skin of Awoken Guardians turns a dark purple. Their eyes, and the lights in Exos' mouths and optics, turn a brilliant violet, and their sclera—the whites of their eyes—turn black. Energy seeps from their eyes like thick, smoky tears. Purple smoke also can escape from their nose and mouths, even billowing up from the hollow cheeks of Exos.

They seem distant. Hungry. Tired. They become far more prone to spacing out. More often than usual. The Void likes when they run on empty, and the emptier they are, the stronger their connection to the Void becomes until, without proper discipline and control, it consumes them.

When a Void Frenzy occurs, it begins with the Hunter expelling a MASSIVE amount of Void energy around them as if they were casting a Super. Void Light bathes their form and often times will manifest in bladed weapons that look much like Spectral Blades, or in some cases, claws. This varies from Hunter to Hunter.

After this point, they have slipped into the grasp of the abyss and it will refuse to let go. They're only goal will to be to kill and consume as much energy as they can to feed the insatiable appetite of the emptinesses gaping maw. They cannot differentiate between friends and enemies and will attack anything that they see. The Void does not discriminate between energy sources and now neither do they. They do not control the Void anymore. The Void is in control of them. They are ferocious, insatiable, and extremely dangerous and will not stop consuming everything in their path until they either pass out or get shot.

The only ways to combat a Void Frenzy is to wait until their own energy has become exhausted and they burn out (which is not recommended as trying to contain Hunters in a Frenzy has proven to be nigh impossible), by suppressing them with the very energy that is controlling them and thus severing their own connection to the Void, or by killing them and allowing their Ghost to rez them so that the Light bathes and grounds them. The Vanguard tends to opt for killing Guardians in Void Frenzies on sight as it acts as a sort of hard reset that has proven to be the most effective and reliable method for quickly snapping a Guardian out of a Frenzy without causing too much extraneous stress, trauma or damage.

Guardians that have suffered from Void Frenzies are often given a one to two week mandatory leave of absence from their duties—the length being determined by the severity of the incident—and are encouraged and given the resources to take care of themselves until they have recovered enough and feel fit for duty.

fates intertwined (redraw)

VOID

Void; the absence of all.

“Did you know it used to be controversial to harness the Void?” - The Drifter

 It was once considered taboo to use Void powers, as some viewed the Void to be "dark"; however, the Void itself is defined as being absent of Light or Darkness, and Void Light is merely a means to manipulate it and where all Void energy originates, the use of Quantum Vacuum for it’s various effects.