UNIVERSE : NYM'S EYE
"Everything within Nym's Eye is the Worldsphere we know. We call it the Seventh World of Nym. Nym's Eye is not so much a world as it is really a collection of worlds, World-Planes, and planetary objects. It consists mainly of the Nym planet at the centre of its eye, Arkath's Divide that surrounds the planet Nym, and the Tearworlds that circle them.
Sol'ah is the Celestial star that provides astral energy to Nym's Eye, and with her are the Celestial Moonsisters that spin the Arcane Threads and provide arcane energy around them, as well as reinforce the fabrics of Arkath's Divide. Surrounding all of this is the Eye's boundaries, which is inhabited by the Celestial Dragons, who vigilantly protect Nym's Eye from possible outsider threats.
Nym's Eye is vast and home to many Kith and beings; a great deal of which are strange and alien, even to a Nymborn native. Everything within the Eye exists on an almost entirely precarious thread of balance, held together by an assembly of many forces and energies, most of which were organized and set in place by the Creators, then more or less enforced and maintained by them.
It all comes together to form a sort of jewel or oasis in the Dark Beyond; one where life of all kinds can thrive. Although little else is known of the Dark Beyond and of the distant worlds that reside within it, Nym's Eye is proof that living worlds can exist in the darkness of the universe, despite all the cosmic events that seemingly occur at random throughout the Dark Beyond.
Comparably, Nym's Eye is truly a sparkling gem in the unknown, wide darkness."
'The Cosmic Jewel'
- Nashorn the Blue, Candlehold Scribe
The Shimmering Shroud
Surrounding Nym's Eye is a wide belt that separates the Eye from the rest of Nym's Sphere. It is known as the Shimmering Shroud; a glittering ring of mist that envelops the worlds within it, and keeps them safe and hidden from outside elements coming from the rest of Nym's Sphere.
The Shimmering Shroud itself maintains a sort of confinement for everything within Nym's Eye, and stardust left behind by its guardians create a concealing enchantment that hides everything inside it, thus the reason for its name. It also serves to help strengthen the fabrics and Aether within Nym's Eye, by protecting the Eye from most of the chaotic energies that seep in or through from the Dark Beyond.
While it might seem like a lifeless and absent place, the Shimmering Shroud is the home of Celestial Dragons, who are born from celestial dust which is left behind in a trail by two gargantuan Celestials; otherwise known as the Celestial Guardians, Asgerac and Celphelon, who were the ones who created the Shimmering Shroud. They themselves came from the dreams of the Moonsisters before they were awoken by the Creator Arkath. Theories suggest that the Moonsisters dreamt the Celestial Dragons into reality due to their own sleeping fears.
Mother Sol'ah
As one of Nym's many daughters, Sol'ah is a Celestial-made star and a living Celestial herself. Her energies are purely astral in nature, and she appears to us as a blazing ball of flame and light. We refer to her as Mother Sol'ah, or just simply the Sun, and she provides Nym's Eye with astral Aether and warmth. All worlds within Nym's Eye orbit her body.
In truth Sol'ah is trapped in a deep slumber, which was induced when she touched the Worldshard that was to later become the worlds of Nym's Eye. The Worldshard had been so cold that when Sol'ah touched it out of curiosity, that the coldness hurt her and she smashed the Worldshard into four pieces: one larger piece and three lesser ones.
Sol'ah eventually fell ill from how cold the shard had been, and curled up into a ball. She has remained like that ever since. However, as a result of her coma, her warmth and energy lingered in Nym's Eye, and allowed the Worldshard's pieces to melt and become the local worlds of our sphere.
When she was conscious, Sol'ah was one of Nym's most daring daughters and also the most curious of them. It is said that Sol'ah was the one that found Var'Zon in the darkness of the Dark Beyond, and by finding him unintentionally led him to her mother, Nym.
There are those who believe that Sol'ah is dying and that her Aether will one day fade completely. Others might also say that Sol'ah is already dead, and what light she possesses now is what remains of her life energy. And what if Sol'ah was to suddenly awake from her coma or extinguish completely? Astronomers dare not think of what consequences would be brought on by Sol'ah's absence in Nym's Eye.
Tearworlds
The Tearworlds, also known as Otherworlds, are eight smaller satellite planets that orbit the central Nym planet, often described as comets or lesser moons. They exist outside Arkath's Divide, where they are unaffected by the elements and energies that meld and mix in the Divide, as well as the laws enforced by the Divide's nature. Instead the Tearworlds draw energy directly from Sol 'ah and the Arcane Currents of the universe that pass by and through Nym's Eye; catching whatever Aether they need as they orbit the World-Planes.
While small, the Tearworlds are extremely variable, and are very unlike both each other and the typical world of Nym or the other worlds of the Divide. They are otherwise cut off from any contact with Arkath's Divide, except when a Confluence occurs; though it is worth noting that Confluences only occur very rarely, like once every few hundreds of years.
San-Ka
San-Ka is known as the Fleeting World, and it is the smallest of the Tearworlds. Natives of San-Ka call themselves Sankarime, and live primarily in floating stone structures and vessels made from the arcane-laden rock of their world. San-Ka's surface is entirely shattered and instead consists of floating stones and plateaus. The Sankarime are typically referred to as world-travellers, because they are able to build ships and other craft that can travel to other worlds; powered entirely by condensed Aether.
By doing this San-Ka has become a gathering hub of communities from many worlds, who mingle and trade with wares originating from their various homeworlds. The Sankarime travel to the Tearworlds, and sometimes even worlds within Arkath's Divide. Upon returning home they might bring with them various commodities, willing travellers, or possibly captured slaves from these worlds.
Ashrana
Ashrana is the World of Light, where beings of pure light exist. It is referred to as a holy world, where astral Aether is strong, and where its most powerful mortal inhabitants are almost godlike. Ashrana possesses energies that are so pure and potent, that the inhabitants safeguard it zealously. The natives revere what they call the Purity of Light above all else, and harvest it and store it in flasks and other containers for later use or to allow it to mature, as if it were wine.
Ashrana is ruled by its religious society of the Purity of Light and their dependent addiction to it. The landscape itself is reminiscent of eternal, tranquil snow-white mountains, that glow and shimmer. Despite its astral energies, Ashrana is primarily a cold world warmed only by the Purity of Light.
Melsaam
Melsaam is called the Tidal World. Its entire surface is covered in water and there is no conceivable land there. Instead Melsaam's inhabitants, the Vodyanki, live in cities at the bottom of their ocean; cities that are powered by intricate and complex machines that are strange and technologically marvellous to behold. The water itself is dense with magical energies that supports peculiar underwater flora and fauna that is very different from what is found on the Nym planet. Gargantuan seabeasts prowl Melsaam's ocean and dig up magically strong minerals that the Vodyanki then use for their contraptions, machining and advanced biografting technology.
Tal Toren
Tal Toren is the Silent World. It is a barren world of reddish, brittle stone, and little grows there. Its people, the Torians, are grim and stony, but also resolute and enduring. Tal Toren is remarkable mostly because it is the only known world that has no connection to spirits, no godlike deities and is completely magically sterile. Aether doesn't flow in or throughout Tal Toren, and it is considered an almost entirely lifeless world.
Creators have little to no power in Tal Toren, and are unable to summon their deistic energies when on its surface. Dust storms ravage the dry, cracked lands, and sometimes these storms reveal buried ores beneath the sands. These ores hold the rare property of being completely resistant to energy spiritual and magical both; which means they hold a lot of value for armourers and the like to create anti-magic armour and equipment, should they ever manage to acquire it.
Ibel'Ach
Ibel'Ach is the Eldritch World, and it is the largest of the Tearworlds. Unlike other worlds, Ibel'Ach draws energy from the chaotic forces; particularly void energies. It is a twisted world ruled by beings of immense corruptible power, and features an alien landscape of twirling, dark woodlands and deep, restless bogs mired in the sky's purplish hue.
The creatures that reside in Ibel'Ach are adapted to mental prowess, often in the form of psychic abilities; capable of invading minds and altering the eye's realities. Ibel'Ach is a dark world, but not all things there are cruel and twisted. Ibellians survive, despite sharing a world with gigantic eldritch beings who siphon the world to sate their hunger. Of all the Tearworlds, Ibel'Ach is the one that holds the most corrupted Aether, but it seems to be what it requires to survive.
Ar-Zhala
Ar-Zhala is the Arcane World. Its lands are forever shifting and changing from arcane and void energies, sometimes at the blink of an eye. In one moment it could be a starlit meadow, in the next a series of labyrinthine hallways or a forest spun in magical threads. It isn't entirely clear how Ar-Zhala works; whether it changes randomly all by itself, or if it's the effect of a person's or collective's thoughts and mental will.
The world's inhabitants, the Zalashir, are masters of the arcane, able to stabilize the ever-changing existences that loop and jump. They build entire cities where no cities actually are, and rooms that expand from closets to grand palaces. The rules within Ar-Zhala are maddening and bizarre, and any mundane person would likely struggle to grasp the world's unnatural sense of existence, to the point of insanity. The Zalashir have mastered how to stabilize this madness, though their own logics might still challenge the minds of outsiders.
Tiral often visits Ar-Zhala, where she is worshipped as the patron god of the Zalashir.
Syl
Syl is known as the Wild World. It is reminiscent of a lush and thriving jungle; except its trees are taller than mountains and wider than most Nymeric cities. One could spend an entire lifetime and never see the mighty roots at the bottom. Wild and dangerous creatures make these trees their homes; inside and out.
The denizens of Syl have evolved to serve the one true philosophy and truth that reigns there; eat or be eaten. The law of survival sits highly in Syl, where even the rapidly evolving plant-life seeks to devour whatever it can find. Sylphs, a Kith of winged humanoids, build large, intricate cities in and around the trees, where their lives are dictated by the Wild Law and the life of the Hunt, and cannibalism is a frequent necessity. Their wings perfectly adapt them to a world where a simple slip could send you plummeting for years into the misty unknown below.
Nagal'or
Nagal'or, the Necrotic World. The first of the vampiric Vrayth came to our world from here; the home and origin of undeath and vampirism. All things necrotic is from Nagal'or, as it is a world that feeds on Aether and soul, and blight energies converge here en-masse. The world is ruled by a powerful being known as Naghulè; an Earthen God who came from the Nym planet, and who created the Necrotic Soul; a soul which gave unliving life to the first beings of undeath. Naghulé placed the Necrotic Soul within himself, and so took it with him when he was banished to Nagal'or.
Sometimes necromancers on Nym draw power from the Necrotic Soul, should they be able to pierce through Arkath's Divide to reach it. Banished to Nagal'or by the Creator Kelmora, Naghulé is trapped in the Necrotic World. It is considered a world of undeath where dead things remain alive and a sickened air chokes anyone who takes it in. Those of the native people who existed on Nagal'or before Naghulé and remain fully alive live harsh, difficult existences, but still embrace that the Curse of Undeath will eventually catch up to them. If anything, the inhabitants of Nagal'or accept undeath as a part of everyday life.
After Nagal'or's Convergence, beings from the Tearworld, specifically the Vrayth, Ghûls and Liches, entered into Nym.