Category:Abyss (MtA)

In the Cosmology of Atlantis, the Abyss is that which isn't, and that which has yet to be. It is the source of paradox, and separates the Fallen World from the Supernal. Accordingly, it is not a place of evil (by its nature, it's not anything at all), but rather the source of natural corruption and ignorance, slowly tearing away at reality till nothing is left.

Birth of the Abyss
When the Ivory Tower of Atlantis was sundered, something went horribly wrong. A tear in the Tapesty cut off the homeland of the Mages with the realms Supernal, and the city of Atlantis disappeared. What replaced it was the Lie, which made all but a few oblivious to the truths of magic, and brought about the existance of paradox.

The books in the Mage series never specify if the Abyss was actually created by the Exarchs, or existed before that, or if it even exists at all, being a place of nothing and practically being a paradox in and of itself.