Triat (World of Darkness) - The Wyrm

The Wyrm

The Wyrm is the bringer of the apocalypse. Trapped in a prison since named Malfeas, the Wyrm has formed a microcosm of the Triat. The Wyrm within the Wyrm is the Defiler Wyrm, the face of corruption. The Weaver within the Wyrm is the Eater-of-Souls, the face of consumption. The Wyld within the Wyrm is the Beast-of-War, the face of calamity. The spiral-shaped labyrinth that the Black Spiral Dancers follow to the heart of the Wyrm consists of various tests for each of these faces, and for lesser spirits ("Urge Wyrms") that belong to each.

Though the Wyrm makes use of a powerful army of spirits in a manner similar to the Weaver, the Wyrm favors, more than the rest of the Triat, the subversion of existing entities. To this end, groups of shapeshifters (the Black Spiral Dancers), mages (the Nephandi), and wraiths (Spectres), as well as entire human organizations (Pentex) have turned themselves over to the Wyrm and represent many of its most powerful servitors. The Wyrm employs this strategy (a) because non-spirits do not have their nature written in stone, and are therefore easier to subvert and (b) because Earth as a physical domain is the Wyrm's primary battleground. If Earth falls to the Wyrm, the spirit world (which reflects reality in large part) will fall as well.

The Wyrms bears some similarities with Judeo-Christian mythology; the Wyrm is sometimes identified with both the serpent in the Garden of Eden and the dragon in the Book of Revelation of John. A common symbol for the wyrm, within the setting, is the ouroboros (a serpent consuming its own tail) as a symbol of its self-destructive nature.