Collected Works: Abyss

Overview

Collected Works: Abyss is a Forsaken World in-world lore tome — a collection of scholarly writings, eyewitness accounts, and cryptic prophecies tied to the Eternal Abyss zone. Players unlock parts of the Collected Works through Eternal Abyss main questline progression, providing deeper context for endgame story content.

This article covers the in-world story content, lore beats, and player relevance.

Revenge

On a dark night, the mage's apprentice Maley cautiously sneaks through the city alleys, winding and stopping occasionally.

"You're too cautious!" cawed a crow, preening its feathers on Maley's shoulder.

Maley ignored the crow's grumbling. Assured that no one was following him, he entered a half-ruined house.

Inside, darkness reigned. Maley snapped his fingers, and a blue flame appeared in his hand.

A dagger touched Maley's neck: "If I were you, I'd extinguish that damn fire!"

Maley obediently extinguished the fire. The dagger was withdrawn.

A genderless metallic voice sounded: "Sorry about the dagger. I don't want a third party to know about our deal."

Maley bowed to the darkness: "Of course. I brought what you need."

Maley threw a purse forward. Coins jingled in the dark.

Soon the voice jingled again: "The amount is correct. What you need is on the chair behind you. Take it when I leave!"

Ensuring he was alone, Maley reignited the flame and approached the chair.

Maley took the order and looked at the crow busy with its feathers: "The master doesn't want him to live!"

The crow raised its head, flapped its wings, and disappeared. Maley took the deal's item from his pocket. It was a vial with a reagent.

Maley carefully opened the vial, poured out half the liquid, then took a vial of water and poured it into the reagent vial.

Laughing, Maley shook the vial to mix the water with the reagent. His face shone with joy.

By morning, Maley approached the mage's tower in the city center. Maley's master, the greatest death mage Faraday, lived at the top of the tower.

Maley carefully bypassed all deadly traps and opened the golden magical door under the watchful eyes of golems.

Maley entered the room and looked at his master with respect and fear.

Faraday looked at the apprentice for a long time, then said: "How long have you been my apprentice?"

Maley respectfully replied: "15 years!"

Faraday smirked: "15 years... I turned your relatives into the souls of the dead, then forced you to become my apprentice. Do you hate me?"

"It's an honor to learn from you. And my relatives treated me poorly. My dear master, I bow before you."

Faraday laughed: "Though you are considered my apprentice, I know that in these 15 years, you've almost reached my level. You have talent, Maley!"

"Thank you for the praise!" Maley bowed his head.

"Give me that reagent. I spent so much effort on these 'Death Bees.' Their honey has immense magical power; I must collect it personally!" Faraday said.

Maley took the reagent from his pocket and handed it to Faraday. The master didn't notice the coldness in the apprentice's eyes.

Faraday poured the reagent on himself and headed to the cage with the 'Death Bees,' who can't stand thieves like him, but thanks to the reagent's scent, they wouldn't dare approach.

Seeing the master enter the cage, Maley began to descend.

Below, he met the crow.

"Hey, simpleton, where are you going?" laughed the crow.

Maley said nothing, but a lightning bolt suddenly shot from his finger. The bird's body was instantly charred.

When Maley left the tower, he heard Faraday's pitiful scream, but the scream didn't last long.

"My relatives treated me poorly, but you shouldn't have killed the old gardener with them. He was very kind to me," Maley muttered.

Into the Darkness

Treasure hunter Dick received a letter requesting a meeting. The letter had no signature or return address, but Dick decided to take his chances.

If someone was trying to prank him, he'd blow their brains out.

According to the agreement, Dick arrived at the tavern and sat by the wall. When Dick almost lost patience, a ragged man resembling a peasant approached him.

For a small reward, the peasant told a strange story.

"I'm from Snow Mountain. Recently, near one of the caves on that mountain, I noticed something strange. That evening, near the cave, I saw a light directed into the sky. I approached and saw two crystals in the cave emitting a red light."

"So where's this cave?" Dick asked lazily.

The peasant pulled a map from his pocket. It seemed he had prepared in advance. Dick took the map and silently left the tavern. As soon as Dick left, his expression changed. Greed took over him.

If the peasant described everything accurately, it's the Blood Diamond. Such wealth was beyond Dick's dreams.

Dick thoroughly prepared for the journey because dangerous creatures inhabit Blood Diamond deposits, and one can't handle them unprepared.

Dick headed to Snow Mountain. By nightfall, he reached the cave and saw the red light.

"It's inside! It's definitely the Blood Diamond!" Dick thought.

Dick cautiously approached the cave, then pressed against the wall and entered the darkness. Soon the red light went out, and chewing sounds echoed in the dark.

When the chewing ceased, a shadow appeared at the cave entrance, and someone cautiously entered.

"Honorable Dark Dragon, did you like this person?" the peasant's voice sounded.

"Not bad, humans are much tastier than cattle, but one is not enough for me. I hope next time you lure an entire squad here!" a commanding voice echoed from the cave's depths.

"As you wish," the peasant replied obsequiously.

Soon the peasant left the cave with a large bag. It contained Dick's surviving belongings and the reward received from the Dark Dragon.

The Gate

Jamie spent a lot of money to buy a ticket. It's such a joy for a follower of the End of the World doctrine.

If you ask Jamie what the End of the World doctrine is, he will tell you a lot. This doctrine emerged after the Storm Legion's invasion among homeless wanderers.

They believe this world is collapsing, and the end of the world is just, the same for everyone, and those who believe in it will gain eternal life.

Jamie believes in all this, so when a path to the end of the world was discovered, he spent his last money on an entrance ticket.

"Soon I will pass through the Gate of the End of the World, soon I will gain eternal life!" Jamie thought, standing at the Gate of the End of the World.

"Only 100 people can enter at a time!" shouted the guard at the cave entrance.

Jamie was lucky; he was among the first 100 people in line.

"The rest, come back tomorrow!" announced the guard.

The Gate of the End of the World closed. Everyone dispersed.

When everyone left, the gate suddenly opened, and a satisfied belch sounded.

"It's full!" said one guard to another.

"Let's go check its digestive waste then; last time, a guy found a piece of gold there."

The guards flew on a beast to the mountain behind the Gate of the End of the World.

From above, they could clearly see the huge beast they called the "End of the World." "It's bloated again. Next time, we should let in fewer people!" said one guard. The other guard nodded with a smile.

Corpse Eater

I am a corpse eater, wandering the abyss and devouring all that decays. Sometimes, for variety, I kill those weaker than me.

I do not complain about my fate for being born this way. I wander along the Essa.

Usually, I can find corpses here, washed up by the river, but today I found a living person, and a woman at that!

I dragged her to my nest and pondered where to start the feast. While I pondered, the woman suddenly sat up. I had never eaten live people before.

The woman saw me but wasn't afraid. When she summoned a shield, I realized she was a mage. In the abyss's language, she said that if I got her food and healed her wounds, she would let me go.

That's how people treat their saviors. I had to become her slave and servant.

At night, though I speak poorly in the abyss's language, I had to tell her local stories.

Soon I learned she was a powerful mage, hired by the abyss people to get rid of the "Great Tide," the main disaster on the Essa river.

But they failed. "We will return," she constantly repeated.

Days passed with fishing and conversations, and we almost became friends. Finally, the day came when she could stand.

With magic, she created wings for herself, flew up, and disappeared from sight.

"Goodbye," I said quietly.

This story isn't over yet. A month later, I saw her again on the Essa's shores. This time she wasn't alone, and they defeated the "Great Tide."

"Hey, look what I found! A dirty corpse eater. Let me finish it off!" one of the warriors noticed me.

She glanced in my direction and indifferently said: "It's just a corpse eater; killing it will only dirty your sword. Take the things and let's go! And leave the corpse here!"

Saying this, she left. I slowly approached the "Great Tide" corpse. I realized this was her way of thanking me; the energy from this corpse would be enough for my evolution!

"Thank you, friend," I muttered, chewing a piece of the corpse.

My story has just begun.

In the Dark

I wander in the darkness, hearing the whispers of evil spirits and the singing of the dead.

I ask: "Why do you cry?" They reply: "History brought us here, left us here, forgot us here!" I laughed: "Then welcome me, I will join you!"

Beautiful Words

In Free Haven, I met a judge who proudly recounted: "I just won a case! It's a pity you didn't see the expression on the face of the guy I defeated."

I tried to interrupt him, but I couldn't.

The judge continued: "I destroyed his theory with just three phrases, and he immediately admitted guilt."

I tried to interrupt him again, but to no avail. Then I declared: "With just one phrase, you'll be lying on the ground!"

The judge provocatively looked at me: "Try it." Finally, I said what I had long intended: "I came to tell you that your house burned down, and all your relatives perished."

The judge fell to the ground with his mouth open, unable to utter a word.

Good and Evil

Once, I traveled across the continent with a friend. He was good at identifying evil. He used magic, and I noticed that besides us, there were almost no good beings around.

So, trusting him, I went with him into a dangerous labyrinth.

Before a mysterious treasure chest, I blacked out and fell. The friend I trusted struck me.

Fortunately, I survived and spent all my savings learning the technique of identifying evil.

The Great Sea

I went to sea with my beloved. On the first day, the sea was calm, like a baby's breath. On the second day, it turned into a little prankster, and after noon, it became a baby again.

On the third day, while kissing, we noticed the waves reaching our waists.

"You have seven Fridays a week, I've never seen such," my beloved shouted to the sea. "But I have. That person is right in front of me," I whispered.

Birth

A child asked his father: "What is history?" The father replied: "History is deception."

The child asked again: "And what is truth?" The father replied: "Truth is non-existence, a dream born among idle crowds."

Then the child said: "Father's history is deception, just as he deceived my mother and abandoned her, and I am non-existence, born of you and mother, empty promises and dreams."

The father was speechless.

This child grew up. He is called the eloquent duke.

The Ferryman

Once, several demons needed to cross a river to reach the battlefield. There were three ferrymen on that river.

They found the first: "If you don't ferry us, we'll tear you to pieces." He refused, and they tore him to pieces.

They found the second ferryman: "If you ferry us, you'll avoid your friend's fate." The second ferryman wasn't afraid and also refused.

So the second ferryman met the same fate as the first.

They approached the third ferryman, and he agreed to transport them.

The third ferryman seated them in the boat, took the money, and steered the boat straight onto the reefs. The boat sank, and all my friends perished.

Now this ferryman is the only ferryman on the river. He earns a lot of money and has suffered almost no losses. What's a boat, anyway!

FAQ

Q: Where do I find Collected Works: Abyss? A: Drops scattered through Eternal Abyss main questline as quest rewards. Some entries are dropped from rare boss spawns.

Q: Worth reading for gameplay? A: Lore-focused. Provides context for Storm Legion arc, foreshadowing endgame raid bosses. Players who enjoy lore appreciate it; pure-DPS players can skip without missing mechanical content.

Q: Achievement-worthy? A: Yes — completing all Collected Works tomes unlocks an achievement title and points toward the Battle Panther mount.

See Also

• Main Questline: Eternal Abyss
• Forsaken Lands
• Achievements
• Main site: Class guides