Thousands of years ago there was a myth about a great magical ship created by the gods at the birth of the world. This ship was sent forth from within the mists of heaven bearing with her all the races of Aerdan. To the great mountains, she dispersed the dwarves. To the vast woodlands, she left the elves. To the plains and rivers, set sent forth men. Dozens of other races were scattered amongst the many marvelous places of the world, from the depths of the sea to the depths of the earth itself.
As is surprisingly often the case, this myth was true. The ship was called Bdellium, and her sails were full of the breath of the gods themselves. She was the last of the intelligent creations made by the gods - and the only one of her kind. The ship was alive to do the will of the gods, and she continued her duty throughout the many ages of Aerdan.
After the War of the Heavens left the gods of Aerdan in decay and ruin, the last of the demons of the world, a great unnamed Monster of power and chaos, clutched hold of the Ship's Heart - a magical medallion - and became overwhelmed by it. The Bdellium, able to hear the hum of its creators no longer, was now filled with the chaotic influences of both its innate good and the monster's malice.
Once charged with the task of delivering peoples throughout the world, she now steals them to herself. No longer a tame servant, the ship began to behave in unpredictable, terrifying ways.
At her birth, Bdellium was given certain powers, and those powers were leashed by an elected Captain through the medallion. She could change her internal configuration to better accommodate the needs and comforts of her ever-changing passengers. Now, without a god, captain, or medallion to guide her, these "Changing Decks" (as they became known) act of the ship's, or perhaps their own, accord; without moral or conscience.
Being vast as they are, it is rumored that people have lived entire lives without even knowing they were ever imprisoned there. Without the restraints of the gods, and now with the monster's otherworldly influence, time and space began to work differently on the ship, even from one room to another. Some people have even claimed to have met themselves passing another way.
Hence the sailor's tune went:
Lest ye wake in a dream,
Nay, nightmare ye'd find it to be,
The Ship of Insanity.
Yer soul will she snatch, so be keen,
Ye'll vanish and ne'er be seen,
Beware if yer honest or mean,
The Ship of Insanity.
