UNIVERSE : THE NYMWORLD

"The Nymworld consists of one full, Mortal Plane and two Half-Planes (the Spiritual World) that exist within and alongside each other. They are the Mortal Plane of Nym, and the aetheric Half-Planes of Ai-Thera and Endomundo. Together they are all part of the Aetheric Sea, and reside within Inner Nym.

Their existences depend on each other, as in many ways they are of the same essences. However, only Nym is the true material plane, and it is there that all living, mortal life is meant to exist and thrive, and where everything originated from and began when the Worldshard was touched by Sol'ah. Both Ai-Thera and Endomundo share the same plane, as each are their own halves of it, and as they spin around and churn the Aetheric Sea, they maintain a barrier of Aether around the Mortal Plane known as the Aetheric Shroud, which acts to separate the Mortal and Spiritual planes.

Most energies coming from outside Nym's Eye and from the Divide's Soulstream will arrive in the Nymworld, where the Worldsoul resides and strengthens the bindings that keep the Nymworld together, as well as controls the flow of energy in Nym.

The Creators' efforts work to ensure that the Nymworld continues to exist, since if the Worldsoul should be extinguished, so too will the rest of Nym's Eye likely fall, and the Creators along with it. Tariel's Soulbind made sure that Creators would forever be dependent on the Worldsoul, which they likely did to secure their dedication to protecting it and the Nymworld that contains it, although it is admittedly only a theory based on Arkathian scriptures.

Tariel's true reasons remain a mystery."

'The Cosmic Jewel'

- Nashorn the Blue, Candlehold Scribe

Inner Nym

Of the three rings that form Nym's Eye, Inner Nym is the smallest but also most important one. It contains the Planet Nym itself, nestled between two astral seas, known as the Planar and Aetheric Seas. Between them are various Planeworlds and the Half-Planes that maintain the balance of Aether within Inner Nym, after it arrives through the Weaveglass.

While all energies are filtered and sorted in the Weaveglass to sustain Nym, the Half-Planes, and the Planeworlds, Aether forms most readily and in most abundance in the Aetheric Sea. It is within the Aetheric Sea that souls travel to and from the planet Nym, and the Half-Plane of Ai-Thera, home of the spiritborn, draws its powers from the Aetheric Sea via the Spiritstone. The other Half-Plane of Endomundo, realm of shadow spirits, covets the Aetheric Sea, but has no way to obtain its Aether because of their lack of access to the Spiritstone in Ai-Thera.

Both Ai-Thera and Endomundo spin around Nym's plane and create a secondary plane along the Mortal one, creating a flow within the Aetheric Sea that helps to nurture the Worldsoul with Aether. Between the Spirit Half-Planes and the Mortal Plane is the thin, unseen layer known as the Aetheric Shroud, which maintains a barrier between the Spiritual and the Mortal realms.

When a mortal dies, their soul must traverse the Aetheric Sea on their journey towards the Great Fade. It is during this time that a soul is most vulnerable to not only prowling Endomundo wraiths, but also to powers of necromancy. However, it is also during a soul's stay in the Aetheric Sea that ressurections are possible, as the soul and its Aether still technically lingers near enough to the Mortal Plane.

When a mage or druid reaches into the Weaveglass, their mind must often traverse the Aetheric Sea and Planar Sea. This can be dangerous for first-timers, as their minds will be vulnerable to corruptive influences during this time. It is thus necessary to learn how to create a mental shield within one's mind, to combat such invasive influences.

Nymshards, while meant to connect directly to Ai-Thera, can be used to access the Aetheric Sea if needed. Incidentally it is also through Nymshards that most souls and spirits will travel through upon the journey to the Great Fade.

Outside of the Aetheric Sea and the central Planes lies the Planar Sea, which is built from primarily elemental Aether, as it works to sustain and maintain the structure of the Planeworlds within it. These worlds, known as "Courts", keep the Elemental Balance, as each Court represents an elemental aspect. While there are technically hundreds of different elements, the largest six (Fire, Air, Earth, Water, Light, Dark) are the most prominent and important to the Worldsoul's well-being.

The Planar Sea is often travelled by the denizens of the Planeworlds, be it for distant pilgrimages to each others' worlds, trade, or for war.

Inner Nym

The Planeworlds

The Planeworlds were originally part of the Planet Nym more directly, but were separated from it by the First Spirits once the Elemental Titans grew too great in power. Instead, these fragmented planes expanded on their own, by gathering the energies of both the Worldsoul and the Planar Sea. What were slivers became planar kingdoms, which eventually grew to become the Planeworlds.

While most Planeworlds were once ruled by the Elemental Titans, two in particular remained free of their tyranny. These Planeworlds were known as Kalam and Shaz-Kadar (of Light and Dark respectively), and both were created and maintained by the First Spirits. In time these two Planeworlds became sort of After-Worlds for spirits, and especially so for those beings and souls who don't belong to Kelmora's Cycle of Souls. This includes creatures like most animals, spirits, and Wildgods.

The remaining Planeworlds each became known as the Elemental Courts, where four of them grew to become essential to the Elemental Balance in Nym. Smaller Planeworlds float in the Planar Sea too, though they are generally quite unimportant to the greater whole, or they are partially subjected as vassal Courts to the greater Elemental Courts.

Elemental Courts

Home to the Elemental Spirits and the Elemental Kith known as the Shadjin. The Elemental Courts is where the Shadjin kingdoms reside. There are many, many minor Courts and cities, but only four that are considered the Greater Courts, generally referred to as Elemental Kingdoms. These are the Skycourt, Flamecourt, Tidal Court, and Earthen Court. Together, these four maintain the equilibrium of elemental Aether throughout the Nymworld.

The Elemental Courts are ruled by Elemental Princes, who were former lieutenants of the Elemental Titans. Having learned how ingrained the Elemental Souls were to the Nymworld's survival, Tiral took the greater Elemental Souls and placed them in one Court each, and with them she chained the Shadjin and other Elementals to their cores.

In essence, this meant that all Elementals were now forever bound to provide energies to the Elemental Souls, and the dependency was shared the other way as well. Also, with the Elemental Souls bound to their Courts, elemental Aether would be provided in steady supply to the Worldsoul, ensuring its stability and the nourishment of the planet Nym's lands.

While the Elementals are bound to the Elemental Courts and the Elemental Souls, they can still enter into the Nymworld, although it is usually only a brief visit; since Elementals must return to the Courts to replenish their Aether directly from the Elemental Souls. However, their stay in the Nymworld can be extended if they find other sources, although this is generally forbidden or limitied by the Elemental Princes, who fear Creator intervention for such actions.

After all, the chains that bind them to the Elemental Souls were meant to be their punishment for having served the Elemental Titans, by having the Elementals bound away from Nym to ensure that they couldn't roam freely in the Mortal World. Despite this, Nymborn mages might still call upon and summon Elementals to serve them, and if the contract isn't properly bound, then nothing stops an Elemental from escaping and doing as it pleases.

The powers of the Courts directly aid shamans on the planet Nym, who serve the Elemental Balance under the Wildpact. Druids, depending on the Circle, might also call upon the powers of Elementals when needed.

In the Elemental Courts, there are three types of Shadjin:

The El'quani, the Elemental Guardians, who watch over the Elemental Courts and serve as warriors to the Shadjin kingdoms. This also includes lesser Shadjin, who can't be considered higher Courtiers.

The El'sharai, also known as Elemental Courtiers, are some of the more privileged Shadjin, and build up the ruling classes of the Elemental Courts.

The El'eledai, the Elemental Princes, who were once the commanding lieutenants who served the Elemental Titans. There are few of the El'eledai left, but they are the ones who rule the Courts from atop their respective kingdoms' and cities' spires.

Apart from Shadjin, Elemental Spirits also roam the lands of the Elemental Courts. There are two types of Elemental Spirits; the Ela'tal, and the Ela'sha.

The Ela'tal serve the Shadjin through a sort of symbiotic connection. The Ela'tal connect with their masters and provide elemental energies for them, and are often kept as pets. Other Ela'tal might wander the Courts and Planar Sea as free spirits; often taking the form of elemental animals that appear as similar to animals on the planet Nym.

The El'sha, the Wild Elementals. These Elemental Spirits are lost in their energies, mindless and without intelligent thought. They are almost completely uncontrollable and dangerous, yet are sometimes dominated and summoned by powerful or daring Elementalists from the planet Nym. El'sha wander the Planar Sea much like other Elemental Spirits, but they are far more dangerous and unpredictable.

The planes of the Elemental Courts exists in a harmonic balance of the elements, as one major element is neither stronger nor weaker than another. This balance is vital not only for the well-being of the Elemental Courts, but for the Elemental Balance of elemental Aether throughout all of Arkath's Divide, and especially so on the Planet Nym.

The Ascensions

Ascensions are the second planes of the Elemental Courts, meaning; each of the greater Courts have a second plane attached to them (such as Sky Ascension, Flame Ascension, etc.). It is within these Ascension realms that the Elemental Titans are bound, alongside the Elemental Souls.

The Ascensions serve two purposes: firstly to keep the Elemental Souls safe and provide elemental Aether to the Elemental Courts and the Worldsoul, and secondly to keep the Elemental Titans imprisoned, while also siphoning the Titans of their Aether into the Elemental Souls.

Those of the Elemental Titans who survived the War of Titans were banished to the Ascensions by Tiral, where she chained them with magical shackles that drain them of their energies and transfer it to the Elemental Souls. The Titans once drained the Nymworld of immense amounts of elemental Aether; Aether they are now forced to return.

The Titans are tortured and weakened, and thus unable to escape their shackles. The process itself is slow and agonizing, and with the amount of Aether they have stored within them, the Titans are believed to have enough elemental Aether to feed the Elemental Souls for many more milennia to come.

It is the charge of the Elemental Princes and their servants to keep the Elemental Titans shackled, and to sustain the Elemental Souls. Failure to do so invokes the ire of the Creators, and the Elemental Princes fear the Creators more than anyone else.

Kalam

Kalam is the Reborn Plane of the two Light Realms, where Ai-Thera is the Half-Plane. Kalam is thus a Reflection of Ai-Thera. By Reflection, it means that Kalam is a sort of "recreation" of Ai-Thera, formed by the Aetheric Sea.

All souls belonging to beings who didn't directly serve the Creators enter Kalam. This typically encompasses unbound orcs, scaleshaped, tengan, wildkith and any others who served the ancient gods such as the Wildgods, Earthen Gods or the Kal'Mar. Most animal souls are also sent to Kalam if they don't merge with Ai-Thera first, and as such it is the largest of the After-Worlds, and also the wildest of them too.

Kalam firstly binds those who give themselves to the Wildpact, which includes most shamans. When in Kalam, their souls' Aether is used to directly heal and aid the Worldsoul and the natural lands of Nym, rather than to be fully distributed evenly to the worlds within Arkath's Divide. Ancestral Souls, sometimes still bound to their Ancestral Spirits, remain in Kalam for a long time, and entire families of souls eventually end up together. Once their energies have been mostly used up, they are returned to the Aetheric Sea to join with its Aether, as they aren't part of Kelmora's Cycle of Souls.

The landscape of Kalam varies, but it is the one that most resembles the planet Nym, or perhaps what it could have been. Majestic mountains, tranquil forestlands and wide, grassy plains stand as imitations of the world they come from, but also surpass the imitation in its idealism. However, Kalam is firstly a plane aligned with Light, so most forms of darkness and night are absent in its realm.

Certain lands within Kalam are dedicated to each of the particular Kith and cultures that go there, as a way of keeping them separated from each other. All the wild souls can roam and thrive in Kalam, until the day of their Final Rest in the Aetheric Sea arrives.

Shaz-Kadar

Shaz-Kadar is the Reborn Plane of the two Shadow Realms, with the other, Half-Plane being Endomundo, of which Shaz-Kadar is the Reflection of. Like with Kalam and Ai-Thera, Shaz-Kadar was formed by the energies of the Aetheric Sea to be a "recreation" of Endomundo.

It is said that Shaz-Kadar is the Planeworld for which evil spirits and cruel monsters are banished to. This also includes any of the servants of Wildgods, who might've wronged them.

This is only half-true, as Shaz-Kadar is a plane of shadow and darkness fit for shades and monsters, but it is also an essential part of the balance between Light and Dark in Nym. Not all creatures of the night and shadows are evil and bad, and sending them to Kalam would be a mistake due to its Light-aligned plane. So instead they go to Shaz-Kadar, where their nature is better suited.

Still, Shaz-Kadar is also a plane of imprisonment, as it is denied true access to the Aetheric Sea, and instead sustains itself through the energies of the Planar Sea. Souls denied from entering Kalam and banished by the Wildgods go to Shaz-Kadar, where they are expected to slowly fade away until they become Shades. Unlike in Kalam, there is no returning to the Aetheric Sea.

Aside from animals and creatures of the night, Shaz-Kadar is home to many Shazari shadow spirits, who might've once been part of Endomundo. These spirits, however, act more as guardians of Shaz-Kadar, and serve the Wildgods in maintaining the Planeworld.

Shaz-Kadar is a planeworld forever mired in the hues of shadow and darkness, as an eternal night settles over the lands. Various obsidian obelisks and structures are protected by the shadow spirits, as these are the anchors that maintain Shaz-Kadar's orbit with the Nym Planet. While it might sound like a dark and bleak place, Shaz-Kadar has its own kind of beauty. The nights are cold but also tranquil and calm, and the vast deserts and sands whisper and whistle in melodious tunes.

Planet Nym

The planet we call Nym is where mortals come from and live. It is the central world in Nym's Eye, and the Mortal Plane where the other Spiritual Half-Planes of Ai-Thera and Endomundo attach to. Nym is the world that surrounds the Worldsoul, and it is the world that benefits the most from the Worldsoul's active existence. Aether from all around Nym's Eye eventually find their way to the central planet, and all other worlds and planetary objects in Nym's Eye orbit it.

Inhabitants native to Nym are called Nymborn, or the Nymeric Kith and Kin. There are hundreds of both civilized and uncivilized Kith living in Nym, and thousands of other living beings and creatures. Compared to the Planeworlds, Veilworlds, and Otherworlds, Nym's lands are extremely diverse and very large. Mountain ranges the size of large empires, ancient forests larger than several cities combined, and great oceans that swallow most of the world's surface come together to create an expansive realm that was once meant for gigantic, primordial beings.

Of course the majority of those creatures have long been gone, and now Nym is primarily inhabited by what we could call the lesser Nymeric Kith and Kin. Though, naturally, today's Nymborn have every right to call this planet their home now, since they were created and born from it, and the many marks of the Nymborn are firmly settled in the world in the form of legacies like great empires, ancient, towering monuments, and the great advancements and achievements of mortal civilizations throughout the many ages.

The Mortal Plane of Nym, while connected to the Spiritual Half-Planes through Nymshards throughout its lands, is separated physically by a layer known as the Aetheric Shroud. This Aetheric Shroud ensures that passage between the planes is only possible in areas where its barrier is weak, or through the Nymshards themselves, which act as Spiritual Gateways. Even then, the act of passing through the Aetheric Shroud is no easy task, and at most one could only somewhat easily manage to transfer one's mind through, rather than one's entire physical being. To pass through physically would require no small amount of talent and knowledge of the Spiritual World.

Breaching the Aetheric Shroud grants entry into the Aetheric Sea, which is where the majority of Aether gathers when it hasn't merged with the Worldsoul yet. On their long journey from the outer rings of Nym's Eye, any energies that remain coming through the Weaveglass will end up in the Aetheric Sea. Additionally, the Aetheric Sea holds most of the departed souls near Nym, as they prepare for their journeys to their respective 'after-lives'.

Ai-Thera

Ai-Thera is the first home of the First Spirits, and it was once the True Realm of all Spirits. In time, it split up, and its other parts became the Planes of Kalam, Endomundo, and Shaz-Kadar. Of these three planes, Ai-Thera is connected directly to Kalam, which makes them both the Light Realms, though Kalam is technically the Reborn Reflection of Ai-Thera.

Of the three lesser shards that broke off from the Worldshard, one was to become Ai-Thera. As the broken shards melted, one piece threw itself over the larger, polished shard that was to become the planet Nym; engulfing it entirely. In time it became a sort of cloak which surrounded Nym. From Ai-Thera's dormant yet waking memories and the powerful energies from Nym's vast Worldsea were born the Aithereal: the First Spirits.

The First Spirits lived between the Mortal Plane of Nym and the Spiritual Plane of Ai-Thera. As both worlds grew, their distance grew with them. The Aithereal created what they call the Spiritstone, which they placed within Ai-Thera. There it bonded with Ai-Thera's Spiritsoul, and contained it within itself. Throughout Nym the Aithereal placed large, spiritually laden stones into the ground, called Nymshards, which would gather and exude Aether. Through these Nymshards Ai-Thera's Spiritsoul would be connected to Nym's Worldsoul, and so the two planes became anchored to each other within the Aetheric Sea.

Ai-Thera is one of the two Spiritual Half-Planes (though at the time it was a whole plane), and it is the home of the first Guardians of Nym, who aided in the nurturing of Primordial life. For a time the Aithereal travelled between the Mortal Plane and Ai-Thera frequently. They gave animals purpose and instinct, and aided Primordials in shaping the world of Nym. Some spirits became animals and plants themselves, and others merged with animal souls. Spirits became so ingrained in the life of Nym that they were more or less interchangeable.

Everything changed when powerful spirits in Ai-Thera grew greedy and became the Elemental Titans. In an attempt to limit the power of the Elemental Titans, the denizens of Ai-Thera split their plane in half, thus creating the Half-Planes of Ai-Thera and Endomundo.

After the rise of the Elemental Titans, fewer Aithereal would come to the Mortal Plane, deciding instead to remain in Ai-Thera where they could protect the Spiritstone. They decided to close off the Nymshards and limit access to Ai-Thera; leaving behind those spirits that remained in Nym. Other Aithereal still frequent Nym from time to time to protect the Nymshards they planted, but most will remain in Ai-Thera, where their desires are more locked towards the Spiritstone.

Ai-Thera is described as a bright, white realm of mists and clouds. Spiritual, one can say, although the mists of this plane are almost completely mystical in what they hide. Ai-Thera is often seen as an imitation of Nym, where its lands correspond to those of the Mortal Plane. Aether gathers in Ai-Thera, empowered by the Spiritsoul and used to feed the many spirits of not only Ai-Thera, but the Mortal Plane as well. Spiritual Aether resides in many things in the Mortal Realm, but it is only in Ai-Thera it is at its purest; even purer than that of the Aetheric Sea.

As a deceased's soul travels through the Aetheric Sea to reach the Great Fade, its Mortal Spirit will protect and aid it until it reaches the edge. It is then typically separated from the soul to return to Ai-Thera, but in some cases the Mortal Spirit might remain with the soul if it is especially attached.

As a spiritual half-plane aligned with Light, Ai-Thera holds a bound connection to the Planeworld of Kalam.

Endomundo

Of the two Shadow Realms, Endomundo is the Half-Plane but also True Plane to the Reborn Plane of Shaz-Kadar, and thus the origin from which Shaz-Kadar takes its Reflection from. But unlike Shaz-Kadar, Endomundo's shadows more closely imitate the landscape of the Nym planet.

Endomundo is an extension of Ai-Thera that was cut off after the Elemental Titans became too dangerous to remain in Ai-Thera. Spirits that were dangerous, violent and hungering were also banished here by the Aithereal. Without the Spiritsoul it became a dark realm of shadows, and its inhabitants, the first Shazari, became soulless demons. From their soulless existence they are unable to enter into Nym for longer durations, unless they find souls to possess and feed from. Some might prowl the Aetheric Sea, and while the Sea is strong in Aether, Endomundo's demons crave the taste of souls above all else.

This half-plane exists alongside Nym, much like Ai-Thera, and is bound to the Mortal Plane by Nymshards. However, only spirits in possession of souls or infused by the Spiritsoul can make safe use of the passageways through the Nymshards, thus more or less keeping Endomundo isolated from the Mortal Plane. Endomundo imitates Nym like Ai-Thera does, but it is a realm of darkness, where dark energies such as shadow and necrotic energies are strong. Necromancers in particular draw dark energy from Endomundo, and enslave possessed souls to create beings of undeath.

The Elemental Titans were Shazari spirits who existed before Endomundo was created, and fed upon the elemental energies of the world and siphoned the Worldsoul to sate their hunger for energy. Since after the Elemental Titans were defeated during the War of Titans, the Creators took to control of Endomundo to ensure that other Shazari couldn't somehow find a way to become new Elemental Titans.

The Creator Gaerdras was the one who conquered Endomundo, and to control them he created the Shadowsoul. But after Gaerdras was imprisoned as a result of his defeat during the War of Eternity, Akama took up Gaerdras' former domain and now wields the Shadowsoul. Not all Shazari yield to Akama but most do fear him. But since Creators are vulnerable when in the Nymworld, Akama risks his life every time he comes to Endomundo, as the Shazari there might plot to see him killed.

Not all Shazari are necessarily cruel, but they grow restless and desperate from their lack of a soul, which makes them empty inside and without any satisfaction or purpose in existence. Their desperation to leave Endomundo can make them dangerous, and the hunger they always feel can lead them to witless insanity. The necrotic and shadow energies present in Endomundo helps sustain their form and thoughts, but it is often not enough.

When souls are travelling to the Great Fade, they must traverse the Aetheric Sea, where some Darkspirits from Endomundo might have managed to escape to. It is then that Darkspirits of Endomundo can possess or devour such souls. A Mortal Spirit will try to protect the soul, but it is typically drained and weakened from having spent a lifetime within a mortal.

If a Shazari possesses a soul, it can enter into the Mortal Plane, although in some cases it is only for a limited time, and so it must constantly seek more souls to consume to extend its physical stay. These particular Shazari are called wraiths.

Especially strong souls with strong Mortal Spirits can fend off the Darkspirits who seek to feed on souls in the Aetheric Sea, but weaker souls can be consumed if unaided, which is why many burials use Aethra Stones to empower the Mortal Spirit and protect the soul while it is passing. Especially fragile souls or souls that might have suffered violent or disturbing deaths, and who do not receive proper burials, can be affected by Darkspirits' dark energies, and in some cases remain in the Aetheric Sea as violent spectres and ghosts; something which often occurs if a soul tries to flee back to the Mortal Plane, or returns for something it might consider an important unfinished task.

Some souls might return to the Mortal Plane and re-enter their former body; although in truth they have been possessed by wraiths, and thus the bodies are no longer under the soul's control. Possessed souls unable to find a suitable body become revenants; manifestations of a fusion between a Darkspirit and a mortal's soul, which might cling onto whatever material it can find.

Shazari who serve Akama are known as shades, and will rarely disturb souls as they pass by them, and sometimes protect them. Shades see Endomundo as their home, and willingly choose to remain there, despite it meaning that they can never feel the life of a soul within them. Although they are well-willed, shades can sometimes succumb to their own hunger, and as such they can still be dangerous. Many shades might enter the Aetheric Sea to hunt down other Darkspirits.

As a half-plane of Darkness, Endomundo is connected to the Planeworld of Shaz-Kadar, though only through their energies, as passage between them is still difficult even for Shades and demons of these planes.