Cosmology of Creation: Difference between revisions

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Completing the structure of the cosmology are the reflections.
Completing the structure of the cosmology are the reflections.


As the Astral Plane shines its silver existence through the universes within it, each of those universes casts a bright and wavery reflection upon the face of the Deep Dark. That bright reflection or each universe is a seperate, lesser, version of each reality. This is called the Ethereal Plane, and every Material Plane of any sort has an associated Ether.   
As the Astral Plane shines its silver existence through the universes within it, each of those universes casts a bright and wavering reflection upon the face of the Deep Dark. That bright reflection of each universe is a separate, lesser, version of each reality. This is called the Ethereal Plane, and every Material Plane of any sort has an associated Ether.   


As the True Black stares eternally at the True Silver, the universes block the view. The sucking hunger of the Fuligin Well pulls so hard on the structure of the material planes that they form a dark, terrible, twisted shadow of each material plane. That dark, twisted shadow formed between the Material and the Outer Madness is the Plane of Shadow. Every material plane forms its own Plane of Shadow, and terrible indeed is the life that lives there.
As the True Black stares eternally at the True Silver, the universes block the view. The sucking hunger of the Fuligin Well pulls so hard on the structure of the material planes that they form a dark, terrible, twisted shadow of each material plane. That dark, twisted shadow formed between the Material and the Outer Madness is the Plane of Shadow. Every material plane forms its own Plane of Shadow, and terrible indeed is the life that lives there.


That, then is the overarching cosmology. The eternal Silver Sea creates and mirrors the Eternal Madness. The Astral Plane twists into the bright, hot, energetically sterile Fount of Reality, in which a multitude of Material Planes are created.  The Prime Material is the largest and most stable, and has sat upon the Fount for untold millenia. The warm, life-giving reflection of the Fount is the Seed, where the dark well of the Outer Madness is destroyed to create the Spark of Life. The Spark infuses the Material Planes and life arises, fed and powered by the Fount.  
That, then is the overarching cosmology. The eternal Silver Sea creates and mirrors the Eternal Madness. The Astral Plane twists into the bright, hot, energetically sterile Fount of Reality, in which a multitude of Material Planes are created.  The Prime Material is the largest and most stable, and has sat upon the Fount for untold millennia. The warm, life-giving reflection of the Fount is the Seed, where the dark well of the Outer Madness is destroyed to create the Spark of Life. The Spark infuses the Material Planes and life arises, fed and powered by the Fount.  


The Prime Material has a number of stable satellite Material Plane realities, both naturally and through the agency of the Greater Gods. These are known by many names, and have many characteristics. The Elemental Planes are satellites of the Prime Material, as are the Outer Planes, which are deifically anchored Material Planes, and include heavens and hells, paradises and wastelands. Mixed in with the Elemental and Outer Planes are many even smaller realities, the so-called Alternate Planes, where sub-universes strive to stay close enough to the Fount to remain viable.  
The Prime Material has a number of stable satellite Material Plane realities, both naturally and through the agency of the Greater Gods. These are known by many names, and have many characteristics. The Elemental Planes are satellites of the Prime Material, as are the Outer Planes, which are deifically anchored Material Planes, and include heavens and hells, paradises and wastelands. Mixed in with the Elemental and Outer Planes are many even smaller realities, the so-called Alternate Planes, where sub-universes strive to stay close enough to the Fount to remain viable.  
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A far larger number of Material Plane realities eventually break free of the Prime Material and drift away, slowly sinking into the Deep Dark. These realities  are doomed to drift and molder forever, and these crumbling, hopeless infinities are the domains of the Crool, and the Atropals.  
A far larger number of Material Plane realities eventually break free of the Prime Material and drift away, slowly sinking into the Deep Dark. These realities  are doomed to drift and molder forever, and these crumbling, hopeless infinities are the domains of the Crool, and the Atropals.  


In this amazing constellation of planar realities, there is one that is truly enormous, rivalling the Prime Material. This second largest reality, the most recently evicted Prime Material, is the closest reality to the Prime Material. This is the weird, wild, reality known as the First World, and is a place of manifold dangers as it begins its long, slow slide into the Dark.
In this amazing constellation of planar realities, there is one that is truly enormous, rivaling the Prime Material. This second largest reality, the most recently evicted Prime Material, is the closest reality to the Prime Material. This is the weird, wild, reality known as the First World, and is a place of manifold dangers as it begins its long, slow slide into the Dark.


Finally, every material plane casts two reflections, one the bright, insubstantial Ether, the other the dark, far-too-real Shadow.
Finally, every material plane casts two reflections, one the bright, insubstantial Ether, the other the dark, far-too-real Shadow.
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===The Unterwelt===
===The Unterwelt===
Inside the Prime Material there are many structures.  Natural forces have eddied and curdled in a reality as large and old as the Prime Material in a trillion, trillion different ways, and then on top of that, unnumbered hordes of deities, demi-gods, and arch-fiends have wrought their will on the fabric of the Prime.
Inside the Prime Material there are many structures.  Natural forces have eddied and curdled in a reality as large and old as the Prime Material in a trillion, trillion different ways, and then on top of that, unnumbered hordes of deities, demigods, and arch-fiends have wrought their will on the fabric of the Prime.


Miles below the safe, sensible ground of the Prime Material, the unseen, the mad, the bad, and the merely desperate have eked out an existence that dates back to the First Day. This titanic underground realm is, by every report, far larger than the surface lands, and filled with all manner of hungering fiends, species, clades, races, cultures, and Empires.  Refugees from the fall of the First World, cthonic Early Life, degenerate but invincibly vital spirits, monsters, castoffs, leftovers, mistakes, and trash from the surface world litter every darkened inch of this titanic underground realm.   
Miles below the safe, sensible ground of the Prime Material, the unseen, the mad, the bad, and the merely desperate have eked out an existence that dates back to the First Day. This titanic underground realm is, by every report, far larger than the surface lands, and filled with all manner of hungering fiends, species, clades, races, cultures, and Empires.  Refugees from the fall of the First World, cthonic Early Life, degenerate but invincibly vital spirits, monsters, castoffs, leftovers, mistakes, and trash from the surface world litter every darkened inch of this titanic underground realm.   
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The last Energy Plane is the Plane of Force, which is an extremely hostile realm (even for a higher energy plane). The Plane of Force suffuses into all reality and is the source of all motion, power, and agency. Pure Force effects tend to be rare, very strong, and difficult to resist.
The last Energy Plane is the Plane of Force, which is an extremely hostile realm (even for a higher energy plane). The Plane of Force suffuses into all reality and is the source of all motion, power, and agency. Pure Force effects tend to be rare, very strong, and difficult to resist.


Based upon extensive studies, the highest mages, sages, and ciphers believe that there is a (possibly infinite) progression of 'nested' demi-planes within the Plane of Force, each of higher and higher power, leading toward the Fount of Reality. These tales are probably apocryphal, as no mortal has direct evidence of any of this, although the ciphers and sages insist that their arithmetic scribblings provide compelling proof.
Based upon extensive studies, the highest mages, sages, and ciphers believe that there is a (possibly infinite) progression of 'nested' demi-planes within the Plane of Force, each of higher and higher power, leading toward the Fount of Reality. These tales are probably apocryphal, as no mortal has direct evidence of any of this, although the ciphers and sages insist that their arithmetic scribbles provide compelling proof.


These 'nested demiplanes' may include such places as Solaria, Hellecore, and Apocolyptica, assuming such places exist at all.
These 'nested demiplanes' may include such places as Solaria, Hellecore, and Apocolyptica, assuming such places exist at all.
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:Solaria is very high in energy and mana, and as a result looks little like the Prime Material. There is no 'ground', the entire demi-infinity instead being a limitless expanse of blazing light-filled space. Gravity is partially conventional for such realities, being locally expressed but universally defined: Away from any mass all creatures seem able to fly by will, but will experience a universal 'down' next to any of the floating features. Within this buoyant photonic sea exists a realm of white-hot clouds, giant drifting stones (driftstones) and long floating strands of viscous fluids. (In truth, the clouds are actually vapors of stone: The liquids are usually molten metals and the stones are far more durable substances with no known Prime analog.) (See Report: ''Solarian Driftstone: Potential Resource for Ultimate Dweomermetals?'') Masses of free-floating flames are very common terrain features, often clinging to the drifting blocks of stone. (Again, the flames are vapors of Prime material fundaments.) "Plant" life here is heavily mineral and flame based, although the viscous ichor/lava fluid also figures prominently. Many of the "animal" lifeforms are partially or totally incorporeal or energy-based or both, with bits of flesh/stone/ichor mixed in. One hundred and one suns blaze their light into the realm, and since there is no fixed earth, the suns blaze from all directions, above, to all sides, and even from beneath. There is no nighttime, although the motions of the suns create very complex patterns of shadow and analogs of constellations. "
:Solaria is very high in energy and mana, and as a result looks little like the Prime Material. There is no 'ground', the entire demi-infinity instead being a limitless expanse of blazing light-filled space. Gravity is partially conventional for such realities, being locally expressed but universally defined: Away from any mass all creatures seem able to fly by will, but will experience a universal 'down' next to any of the floating features. Within this buoyant photonic sea exists a realm of white-hot clouds, giant drifting stones (driftstones) and long floating strands of viscous fluids. (In truth, the clouds are actually vapors of stone: The liquids are usually molten metals and the stones are far more durable substances with no known Prime analog.) (See Report: ''Solarian Driftstone: Potential Resource for Ultimate Dweomermetals?'') Masses of free-floating flames are very common terrain features, often clinging to the drifting blocks of stone. (Again, the flames are vapors of Prime material fundaments.) "Plant" life here is heavily mineral and flame based, although the viscous ichor/lava fluid also figures prominently. Many of the "animal" lifeforms are partially or totally incorporeal or energy-based or both, with bits of flesh/stone/ichor mixed in. One hundred and one suns blaze their light into the realm, and since there is no fixed earth, the suns blaze from all directions, above, to all sides, and even from beneath. There is no nighttime, although the motions of the suns create very complex patterns of shadow and analogs of constellations. "


'''Editor's Note:''' Roam's journals, while apparently quite well-referenced and thoroughly researched, have been widely debunked by several scholars of the Celegian Ministry of Science.  In fact, Roam himself publicly renounced many of his works as exaggerations and lies, claiming he only wanted to further his career in the Exploration Corps of the Celegian Army. His death soon thereafter was only quietly noted by authorities, making it apparent that he died of shame. Those conspiracy kooks who claim he was forced to recant his research because the Celegian Army wished to weaponize the entities living within the Plane Solaria have never found any shred of evidence to support it.
'''Editor's Note:''' Roam's journals, while apparently quite well-referenced and thoroughly researched, have been widely debunked by several scholars of the Celegian Ministry of Science.  In fact, Roam himself publicly renounced many of his works as exaggerations and lies, claiming he only wanted to further his career in the Exploration Corps of the Celegian Legion. His death soon thereafter was only quietly noted by authorities, making it apparent that he died of shame. Those conspiracy kooks who claim he was forced to recant his research because the Celegian Legions wished to weaponize the entities living within the Plane Solaria have never found any shred of evidence to support it.


Sadly, as few other scholars claim any knowledge or expertise on Solaria, Roam's journals are the only potential source of information.
Sadly, as few other scholars claim any knowledge or expertise on Solaria, Roam's journals are the only potential source of information.
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The Silent Black is assumed to be what lies opposed to the Astral Sea and the Outer Madness.  It may also be thought of as what lies 'between' the Silver Sea and the Outer Dark.  The various Material Planes may be thought of as existing 'within' the Silent Black, or perhaps the material Planes are bubbles in the Silent Black caused by the energies of the Fount and the Seed.  
The Silent Black is assumed to be what lies opposed to the Astral Sea and the Outer Madness.  It may also be thought of as what lies 'between' the Silver Sea and the Outer Dark.  The various Material Planes may be thought of as existing 'within' the Silent Black, or perhaps the material Planes are bubbles in the Silent Black caused by the energies of the Fount and the Seed.  


It is sometimes called The Silence, or the Place of Stillness, or even Purgatory.  It is the place where everything winds downs and grows tired and eventually grinds to a stop.  The Silence is a place of uncertain borders and unstable existence, were things can easily slip into the Final Madness, the True Void.  The edges, borders, properties, and even existence of the Silent Black is uncertain, and some scholars believe the Silent Black is simply the 'safe' portions of the Outer Madness, while others feel that the Outer Madness is simply those portions of the Silent Black which have gone mad. This is all made even more confusing by the proven fact that the Silent Black is infinite in scope, and yet contains the many Material Planes, which are also Infinite in scope. How these nested infinities may exist is beyond mortal ken, it seems, although the cyphers insist their arithmetic scribblings can contain hints.
It is sometimes called The Silence, or the Place of Stillness, or even Purgatory.  It is the place where everything winds downs and grows tired and eventually grinds to a stop.  The Silence is a place of uncertain borders and unstable existence, were things can easily slip into the Final Madness, the True Void.  The edges, borders, properties, and even existence of the Silent Black is uncertain, and some scholars believe the Silent Black is simply the 'safe' portions of the Outer Madness, while others feel that the Outer Madness is simply those portions of the Silent Black which have gone mad. This is all made even more confusing by the proven fact that the Silent Black is infinite in scope, and yet contains the many Material Planes, which are also Infinite in scope. How these nested infinities may exist is beyond mortal ken, it seems, although the cyphers insist their arithmetic scribbles can contain hints.


The truth is unknown, and may actually be unknowable by mortals.
The truth is unknown, and may actually be unknowable by mortals.
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==The Astral Plane==
==The Astral Plane==
A silvery void that connects the many Material Planes (including the Prime, First World, Energy and Elemental and Lateral Planes, the Wards of the Will, and many others) to the Elemental and Outer Planes, the astral plane is the medium through which all parts of Reality are connected. The only planes which cannot be reached via the Astral Sea are the Ether and Shadow planes, which exist as reflections of a Material plane, and can only be reached by travelling through a Material Plane.
A silvery void that connects the many Material Planes (including the Prime, First World, Energy and Elemental and Lateral Planes, the Wards of the Will, and many others) to the Elemental and Outer Planes, the astral plane is the medium through which all parts of Reality are connected. The only planes which cannot be reached via the Astral Sea are the Ether and Shadow planes, which exist as reflections of a Material plane, and can only be reached by traveling through a Material Plane.


Careful study of the Astral Plane has revealed that there is structure and purpose within the Shining Sea, and some few of these structures are even vaguely understood by Cyphers and Sages.  The Celestial Cascade is a vast structure within the Astral Plane which facilitates the transport of souls from the Prime Material to the various Outer Planes.  Souls are valuable to those with few scruples, and as a result, the Celestial Cascade is enormously well-defended, and the secrets of reaching it require Deific might, or close to it.  Despite the near-certainty that the Celestial Cascade exists, there is very little detailed information about it in the hands of mortals. Other vast structures within the Astral Plane such as the Mistflow, Gelid Billows, and The Cirrus Fringes are still completely beyond mortal ken, and travelers can simply marvel at their wonders.
Careful study of the Astral Plane has revealed that there is structure and purpose within the Shining Sea, and some few of these structures are even vaguely understood by Cyphers and Sages.  The Celestial Cascade is a vast structure within the Astral Plane which facilitates the transport of souls from the Prime Material to the various Outer Planes.  Souls are valuable to those with few scruples, and as a result, the Celestial Cascade is enormously well-defended, and the secrets of reaching it require Deific might, or close to it.  Despite the near-certainty that the Celestial Cascade exists, there is very little detailed information about it in the hands of mortals. Other vast structures within the Astral Plane such as the Mistflow, Gelid Billows, and The Cirrus Fringes are still completely beyond mortal ken, and travelers can simply marvel at their wonders.

Revision as of 12:22, 20 September 2020