Xoriat – The Realm of Madness

Xoriat is the plane of madness, alien thought, and unreality—a realm where the laws of nature, logic, and perception are not merely bent, but shattered. Known as the Realm of Madness, Xoriat is not chaotic in the way Kythri is; it is fundamentally incomprehensible, a place where reality itself is unstable, and where the minds of mortals unravel simply by perceiving it. It is the source of nightmares that defy explanation, of truths too vast and terrible to grasp, and of horrors that twist the soul.

The landscape of Xoriat defies description. It is not a place of geography, but of conceptual distortion. Mountains may float upside down, rivers may flow through the sky, and cities may exist in multiple dimensions simultaneously. Time does not pass linearly, and space folds in on itself. A traveler might walk in a straight line and arrive where they began—or in a place that never existed. The very act of observing Xoriat changes it, and the observer, in ways that cannot be predicted or reversed.

Xoriat is home to the daelkyr, ancient and powerful beings who embody madness and corruption. These entities are not merely monsters—they are living distortions, whose presence warps reality around them. The daelkyr are responsible for some of the darkest chapters in Eberron’s history, most notably the Daelkyr Invasion of Xen’drik, thousands of years ago. During this invasion, Xoriat became coterminous with the Material Plane, and the daelkyr unleashed horrors that nearly destroyed the world. Though the invasion was repelled and the plane sealed away, its scars remain—in twisted creatures, cursed bloodlines, and lingering madness.

The daelkyr are master fleshcrafters, capable of reshaping living beings into grotesque forms. Aberrations such as mind flayers, beholders, dolgaunts, and gibbering mouthers are believed to be their creations—living expressions of Xoriat’s alien logic. These creatures often carry the taint of the plane, spreading madness and corruption wherever they go. Some mortals worship the daelkyr, believing that madness is a path to enlightenment, or that the daelkyr are gods in disguise. Others seek to destroy them, though few survive such quests.

Xoriat is deeply tied to psionics, aberrant magic, and mental corruption. Its influence can manifest in dreams, hallucinations, or sudden breaks in reality. When Xoriat becomes coterminous, the effects are catastrophic: minds fracture, monsters emerge, and the boundaries between thought and matter dissolve. These periods are rare, but devastating, and many believe that the seals keeping Xoriat at bay are weakening.

In the Draconic Prophecy, Xoriat represents the unwritten, the unknowable, and the unraveling of fate. It is the force that defies prophecy, that breaks patterns, and that introduces chaos not as randomness, but as anti-meaning. It is the whisper in the dark that says, “Nothing matters,” and the scream that follows when you realize it might be true. Yet even in its madness, Xoriat holds truths too vast for sane minds—truths that may reshape the world if understood.

Planar travel to Xoriat is nearly impossible—and profoundly dangerous. The seals placed by the Gatekeepers, ancient druids who fought the daelkyr, keep the plane remote. But cracks exist. Certain rituals, aberrant dragonmarks, or cursed artifacts may open portals, often unintentionally. Those who enter Xoriat risk not only physical harm, but mental dissolution. Memories may be rewritten, identities lost, and perceptions permanently altered. Some who return are never the same—others never return at all.