WORLD : MYTHOS
- The Cosmic Age -
From what can be gathered from the ruins of astral seraphs and Xaraxian temples, the stars appear to have ever been the domain of a larger image, one that isn't drawn on the Astral Tapestry, but that exists beyond its constraints.
But, according to myth, it all simply began with a single Egg.
Not just any egg, but a Cosmic Egg, one that held in it all kinds of energies and possibilities, of futures and pasts yet to occur. Upon chance, its shell cracked, and from inside came a bright Radiance, whose warmth and Dignant Light lit up the cosmos, and set alight the stars.
But once all Dignant Light had left the shells, what remained in the shattered pieces of the Egg was untouched by Radiance, and its shells would harbour the remnants of the darkest Darkness; the Malignance. This entity of Unseen Abyss grew as it hid between the cracked shells, and soon it set out to consume all that had been lit up by the Radiance.
From their violent, cataclysmic clash sprung the chance creation of new Eggs, which cracked and gave existence to Vessels of souls, who themselves would be shaped by the conflict of the great cosmos. From Radiance came its Wills, known as the Cosmic Numen, who themselves grew to create their own Numen Light, and in servitude to the August Balance of the cosmos, the Numen toiled to ensure the balance between Radiance and Malignance was upheld.
- The Wildborn Age -
Amidst the great cosmic conflict, one Cosmic Numen's Light shone so strongly, that its brilliance attracted the attention of souls born from stars.
On this world, to be known as Solitude, arose the Divine Souls of Elementa Spirits, of which many evolved to become further souls of various creatures, such as the dragons, and later the souls of mortalkind. Dragons and Birds shaped Solitude's lands and oceans and taught the beasts and mortalkind to survive in them, the Spirits mended and kept Her Primeval Worldsoul, as the Arcane Winds granted nourishment of Aether the land and souls.
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It is a Wildborn Age, one of roaring beasts, dragons, giants, primal deities, and the might of nature.
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Great woodlands were made and tended to by various fey creatures, who changed from the stars to become elves and dwarves. The dwarves, attracted to all manner of sparkling stones and shine, became enamoured with the lustre of the earth, and dug grand cities of stone and metal into the tall peaks of the world. The elves, on the other hand, looked up at the night-skies, and witnessed the forming of the Astral Tapestry, and beheld the stars on its fabric.​
- The Celestial Age -
As the Arcane Winds flowed, and Aether amassed in the Astral Tapestry, those energies set the world ablaze in astral-born Light. This Numen Light empowered the peoples of Solitude, and spurred curiosity especially in the elves. Through their study of the stars the brokered and nursed a growing civilization of the starstruck, which grew to include the rising souls of mankind.
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Together they built grand astral towers, and spires that reached to touch the stars of the skies. It was a Celestial Age, of arcane development, of discovery and moons, and magic. Moonlit Stones were erected to harness the Aether of the stars, and great pillars were built to cast eternal night across the lands. Eventually, entire cities cloaked in sparkling starlight arose around these stones and pillars.
So enamoured were mortalkind by the celestial heavens, that some used their magic to steal stars and moons from the Tapestry, and brought them with them below the crust of the earth, into their own empires sprawled through the underground realms of the Neaths. These insectoid beings, known as the Chitric, crafted intricate and secret cities, where they kept the light of crafted stars for themselves.
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But, as the souls on Solitude were preoccupied with their fascination for the stars, the Unseen Abyss would eventually bear witness to this world's brilliance bathed in starlight, and the Abyss, covetous of all Light, despised Solitude for Her shine.​
- The Decadent Age -
To ensure Solitude's demise, the Unseen Abyss devised Ten Omens to bring about Her inevitable doom. In their dreams, the Omens began to carefully and intently craft Solitude's end.
From these machinations were made Divine Souls of twisted Numen Light, who would visit Solitude and give aid to Her purposeless inhabitants in the form of Divine Gods. Unbeknownst even to these deities, they had been born for the purpose of sowing seeds of discourse.
Firstly, the Divine Gods saw the Celestial Empires, and brought to them their own golden Light, one of Suns and Flame. A Decadent Age of firm tenets, of civilization and lawbound order, arrived, as most of mortalkind cast aside their love for night and stars for that of sun and mankind. Drawing power directly from the Light of the Primeval Worldsoul, the Divine Gods and their worshippers thrived in resplendence.
Those beings of ancient times, such as the spirits, elves, and dragons, were pushed aside as the rise of the Divine Order made itself paramount throughout Solitude, and for a long time Solitude enjoyed an age of peace in the light of gold and opulence. Divine heavens arose, and in those heavens erected grand cities of marble, and in those cities were elevated the souls of angelic seraphs; the chosen servants of the Divine Gods.
But the Omens' true intent would soon make itself known, and from secret whispers and forgotten promises were born the Dark Gods in the last Celestial Empire of Xaraxas.
- The Abyssal Age -
As the armies of Xaraxas mustered at the hand of the Dark Gods, a great war between Light and Darkness began, known as the Divines War. The Divine Order arose to face the Dark Gods and their armies, but their powers were, by Omen design, insufficient. In their desperation, the Divine Gods took to siphon the Numen Light of the world to wield and empower themselves, but as they did, the world's lands and Aether began to suffer and fade away.
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As the Omens grew stronger from this strife, so too did the imbalance between themselves, as the Omens greedily fed on the discourse wrought by their long and patient design. It was through this imbalance that Solitude would eventually be torn apart, as Her Primeval Worldsoul was pulled and gnawed at by the Omens.
All the while, the Dark Gods continued to stand triumphant in their conquests, until eventually they defeated and killed the Divine Gods and their allies completely. Soon, as the lands shattered and the fabrics of Solitude's reality ripped, Her Worldsoul, all her Light and being, broke, faded away, and died forever, as Ruination arrived and cast the world into destruction and cataclysm.
Then only the Dark Gods remained, in a dead world of their making, set inbetween the vestiges and shells of a broken Numen. The Unseen Abyss finally left its shadows, and with its dark maw and creeping clutches consumed the world in its darkness, and finally extinguished all Light and souls.
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For a long time, the denizens of this dead world continued to go on, trying to survive in an Abyssal Age of doomed hope. One by one, they died out, until only Dark Gods remained.
- The Reborn Age -
The Dark Gods would eventually realize their folly. What purpose was there in reigning over a dead world? And once this world had completely dissipated, would the Dark Gods, too, disappear with it? The Omens had abandoned them, the Abyss cared not for their souls, and there was simply no escape from Solitude; the Dark Gods were on their own. Some would revel in this chaos, some didn't care, and some despaired.
It was from alliance of Three, known as the Dark Triumvirate, that a plan to save the world was devised. Using the last Vestiges of Numen Light that remained in this world, the Triumvirate took the body of slain Maraiah, Divine Goddess of Light, and infused in her their own Wills, Souls, and Aether, and brought new life into her at the cost of their own fading energies.
From this was created a new Worldsoul Vessel, which the born-again Goddess carried, until it hatched into Nerasûn, the Dark Sun and Vessel of the new Worldsoul; pieced together from fractured memories and unstable Aether to create a new world from its own, broken mind. As it sprang to life, Nerasûn siphoned the energies and power of all the Dark Gods to sustain itself, which brought back Light to this Reborn World. A weaker, Ethereal Light, but Light all the same. With this Light it expelled the darkness of the Abyss, and reformed the world as it saw fit.
The Reborn World was a world dark, twisted, and deformed; an imitation of what it once was. Yet, it was still a world brought back from darkness, a world snatched from the maw of the Unseen Abyss. Solitude's Ruination was halted ...for now. The Unseen Abyss, along with its Omens, went away, but it is no secret that they wait somewhere in the near darkness, patient for the moment to strike again.
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For many centuries, the enduring and returned mortal denizens of these darkened realms would face many tribulations, as they struggle even to this day to survive in a world unfit for life. The Dark Gods themselves, weaker from the existence of Nerasûn, bicker endlessly over how to maintain the fragile balance of this world, and some still argue to defy the siphoning of their precious energies.
From Dark Kingdoms and the Fading Lands of these Reborn Realms, in the secret, whispering voice of manipulative Omens; the Dark Gods plot and plan against each other, to ensure that if it came down to it, they would remain as last to survive in whatever new Great Conflict or Tribulation to come.
- Cosmography -
The Eminences
The greater powers of the universe, cosmos, and overall realities. They have been there even before they could be perceived, since a time when time was yet to be. In the greatest scheme of all things, the Eminences are the only real powers that matter, as their every move, no matter how miniscule, determines the fate of everything and nothing; from the tiniest ant, to the merging of cosmic realities.
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First of all things were Radiance and the Malignance; born from the same Cosmic Egg. When the Egg cracked, from from its shell was Light suddenly expelled, as Radiance instantly lit up entire universes. But as Radiance left, what remained in the Cosmic Egg, hidden between cracks, was shadow and darkness; a power of deepest Malignance. From Radiance came Dignant Light; creation and existence. From the Malignance was existence unmade, and nothingness would always reign where it dwells. The two would forever be in opposition against each other, in the August Balance of the cosmos.
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From Radiance and the Malignance have been born the servants, tools, and grand means to alter the course of fates and worlds. Who can say just how many times our entire cosmos has undergone the same tales, as the Eminences clash and existences are unmade, remade, and reborn.
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Only one thing is clear, and that is that Radiance is ever-waning, and as it continues to fight and lose, it is only a matter of time until the Malignance finally conquers and consumes all; in all worlds and all known and unknown realities.
Dignant Light
Dignant Light stems from the very Radiance of cosmic birth, which lit up the darkness of the cosmos and expelled all things dark. For a brief moment in the greater period of existence, Dignant Light set alight the stars, and from those stars began the churning of the Arcane Winds, and life throughout the cosmos awoke in the form of souls.
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From Dignant Light is Dignant Life and Death made, which steers the August Balance of the cosmos into the direction of Radiance, away from the Malignance. It is by Dignant Light that the Aether of existence and creation takes true form.
First to awake in creation were the Cosmic Souls of Cosmic Numen, and from their own Light was made Numen Light, and from it were born the Divine Souls of godlike beings, who in turn created Mortal Souls.
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As it stands, Dignant Light are of the last vestiges of the Radiance, and it is ever-waning. For a time, Solitude held onto much of Dignant Light along with its own Numen Light in its Primeval Worldsoul, but the Dark Gods, spurred on and empowered by the Omens, broke apart the Primeval Worldsoul, and from their actions did Solitude's Light die, until it was reborn again as Ethereal Light.
Unseen Abyss
Everything that is between the Light is the Unseen Abyss; a void of seemingly dark nothingness, yet the source of untold madness, chaos, and corruption. Deceptive, blinking stars, sometimes described as blinking eyes, can be seen as one stares into the darkness; though one would take care to not stare too long.
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The Unseen Abyss is the manifestation of the Malignance's Wills, which has made true Unseen Death and Life, which oppose the Radiance in the August Balance of the cosmos. The Unseen Abyss is the ever-creeping cloak of Malignance, which continues to grow ever-stronger as Radiance dims.
Even the many Gods of today don’t know much about the Unseen Abyss, yet it was the Abyss that spawned the Dark Gods through its will of the Omens, who crafted the Dark Gods by twisting Divine Souls and Numen Light. Through the Divines War, the Dark Gods wielded the Vows of the Omens with determined resolve, and their powers won them the war against the Divine Gods.
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As the Dark Gods reached Solitude's Primeval Worldsoul, the Unseen Abyss seeped in and summoned Ruination, which then broke the Worldsoul apart as the Omens clawed at it, and for a while the Unseen Abyss covered all of Solitude in its darkness.
But when Solitude was reborn through Nerasûn's Ethereal Light, the Abyss was expelled with its Omens, yet its claws and shadows still linger in its Unseen World, where it slowly creeps closer, as it tries to wrap itself around Solitude once more. Alongside the Omens, the Unseen Abyss waits, sometimes impatiently, for the right moment to strike again.
Cosmic Numen
Also known as the Cosmic Alignments. The Cosmic Numen are forces which preside and steer the universe and cosmos in servitude of Radiance, wherever they can. They are exceedingly powerful, more so than any of the Omens, even by themselves.
The Numen are far above gods, as they are made from Cosmic Light born from Radiance. As such, they are the manifested Wills of Radiance. They are present in all things that exist and all things that steer the universe. In anything controlled by the Cosmic Numen, the August Balance is above all, even when it stands to tip the scales too far in Radiance's favour.
In that sense they are often as much against each other, as they are against the Malignance and its Wills.
Gloom and Gleam
The Numen of Illumination. Gloom presides over the cold and fade, and Gleam over the warmth and shine. Both are forces of the balance between darkness and light, cold and warmth.
Mortality and Divinity
The Numen of Creation. Mortality oversees the greater whole of life of the mortal existence, Divinity presides over the select few who command powers of immortality. Both preside over the aspects of Dignant Life and Dignant Death.
Indolence and Zeal
The Numen of Time and Space. Indolence presides over the silence and idleness of existence, and Zeal is the active force that pushes Time and Space forwards. Both are forces of the Inevitable.
The Mundane and The Obscure
The Numen of Reality. The Mundane oversees the natural existence of nature and the elements, whilst The Obscure presides over the forces of the unnatural and unknown. Both are forces of the Arcane and Aether, who maintain the Arcane Winds.
Solitude
The Lonesome Numen, whose place in the greater cosmos was one of the whole. While technically alone, Solitude would take on the aspects of all the other Numen, and in a sense grow as strong as all of them combined. The actions of the other Numen would inadvertently always change Solitude as they grew and waned.
Solitude, of all things in existence, is the manifestation of reality between the Immaterial and the Material. As she waited and grew from the other Numen, she became a Numen Egg of her own, and once it cracked, from its shells was made the Primeval Soul, and around it was a world born of a fusion of Dignant and Numen Light, which grew to outshine all stars, and eventually attracted the contemptuous ire of the Unseen Abyss.
The Omens
A total of ten Omens exist; born and created from Malignance's Wills via the Unseen Abyss. In some tales they are said to have been created from the death of distant worlds. They are the Omens of the End, which herald the arrival of Ruination. In essence they are not physical truly living beings, but Cosmic Projections made manifest as Unseen deformities of the Cosmic Numen. As they grow stronger, so too does Ruination, and in turn the likelihood of Malignance's growth in the August Balance.
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While they take no real form, within Solitude they have been known to appear in many things, be it as a wandering elder, an alluring beast, the whispers of a gale, or in the constellations of the Astral Tapestry. The Omens plot and scheme, because their only goal is to completely extinguish the Light apparent in Solitude.
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Even before they truly arrived in Solitude along with the Dark Gods, their influence had ingrained itself and affected the beings and peoples of Solitude for centuries; slowly weakening them to ensure that, once they arrived in Solitude, no one could stop them. As part of their schemes, the Omens created the Divine Gods, and used them without their knowing as puppets, to steer Solitude's inhabitants in a direction bent on weakening the Primeval Worldsoul.
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The Omens' End would have fully succeeded, if it hadn't been for the betrayal of the Dark Gods, who relit the Light of the Worldsoul, and banished the Omens and the Unseen Abyss from the Reborn World. Despite having been removed from Solitude, the Omens continue to wait in the darkness of the Unseen Abyss, and from within there they spread their whispers amongst the souls of mortals. In fact, in all mortal hearts are lie the undeniable influence of the Omens, which can take hold over anyone whose wills are too weak to resist.
It is only because of the obscurity made from Ethereal Light, that the Omens are kept at bay, for now.
Omen of Opulence
Associated with pride, wealth, immortality, legacy, grandeur, and decadence.
Opulence is the Herald of Resplendency, and spurs on the greed of men and all kin in their pursuit of eternal life; to be remembered.
Omen of Solace
Associated with death, the eternal rest, peace, emptiness, sorrow, and absence.
Solace is the Kind Promise of the End. There is tempting beauty in knowing that there is nothing that awaits, that nothing more is expected of one self.
Omen of Cinders
Associated with faith, fire, passion, suns, ash, purgation, and birth.
Cinders is the Flaming Eye, that forever watches and sees the true passions and hatreds of all. It spurs hearts to action, against sense or reason.
Omen of Celestia
Associated with arcana, ice, stars, moons, knowledge, ageing, secrets, and patience.
Celestia is the Star of Magic. While all things must end, there is eternity in knowledge, in knowing the forbidden secrets kept from impatient eyes.
Omen of Pandemonium
Associated with volatility, noise, blood, violence, clamour, and chaos.
Pandemonium is the Wild Heart, that inspires immediate action free from the restraints of self preservation. Through chaos does it roar, and in hordes does it ravage.
Omen of Austerity
Associated with stoicism, tradition, unchanging, endurance, stone, order, permanence, and calmness.
Austerity is the Unmoving Pillar. When all else sinks into the depths, burns to ash, or rips asunder, Austerity will remain above it all, apart from turmoil.
Omen of Acquiescence
Associated with inevitability, souls, rot, decay, rust, entropy, and fate.
Acquiescence is the Waiting Eye. It sees what is to come, and it knows that all things must eventually happen and end.
Omen of Infinitum
Associated with madness, corruption, futures, eternity, and the void.
Infinitum inspires the Infinite Well, in which all things must fall, eternally, even when time and space stops to exist. To see everything forever is to see the true end.
Omen of Natura
Associated with nature, life, mutation, cycles, instinct, growth, and beasts.
Natura is the Thorned Heart. All creatures of the wilds know its song, and amidst unbreaking winds and bared fangs, all will eventually know that nature's growth is not meant to be cowed.
Omen of Automata
Associated with crafts, machines, electricity, technology, creation, and discovery.
Automata is the Eternal Cog. With hammer, steel, sweat, and blood are creations born. Creations of a mind besieged by unfathomable ideas, of machines meant to replace the inconsistencies of flesh.
Astral Tapestry
The outer layer of Solitude, made from the discarded shells of Solitude's Numen Egg as she was made into a world, is known as the Astral Tapestry. As Aether flows through the Arcane Winds, it gathers in the Tapestry, and there it swirls and swells and grants nourishment to the worlds within Solitude.
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The Astral Tapestry holds the images of stars, caught in its web and threads. These stars form an intricate network, as they make up constellations. From these constellations those learned in the arts of Astral Arcana might infuse their own Light, and gain magics from that infusion. During the Celestial Age, arcanamists and astrologians developed various esoteric Astrologics; powerful spells formed from Astral Arcana. Most of these Astrologics have now been forgotten and lost.
Before the Reborn World, the Astral Tapestry held two greater stars, who empowered and gifted the Elementa Spirits with Aether, and the Divine Gods with Light. Come the Ruination, the two stars were destroyed: when one dimmed and broke apart and became the Divided Moon, and the other was overwhelmed by its twin's Light, until it too began to dim as the Evanescent Sun.
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Even earlier, during the Celestial Age, it is said that the Astral Tapestry held not only many more stars, but many moons. According to myths, the empires of the underground Neaths stole those moons along with many stars, and brought them with them below the surface.
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During the Abyssal Age, holes began to appear in the Astral Tapestry. From these holes one can gaze upon the true universe behind, though it is a reality of cosmic influences; many of which aren't for the eyes of weak-willed mortals. But most of all, these holes allow for strong currents of Arcane Wind to flow through, which has created a general imbalance in Aether.
It is said that if one looks closely enough, one can see the supposed shapes of the Omens take form around those holes.​
Arcane Winds
Through the Tapestry and its holes, the winds of the cosmos leak through, known as the Arcane Winds. These Winds are the basest source of Aether in the universe, and they are powered and ushered on by stars. While Aether is generally the energies that sustain the elements of all things, an imbalance can cause negative effects, which means that the Winds through the Tapestry do more damage than they do good.
Most magic and Arcana is controlled using the Arcane Winds, often at the danger of Aetheric imbalance. Using the Winds can empower Light with Aether, and in turn allows a wielder to alter and control the elements. It is when too much Aether is injected upon an element that it becomes unstable, which can cause arcane corruption.
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Essentially the Arcane Winds can only manipulate existing elements, and can’t create spells and effects from nothing. But the Arcane Winds can be very versatile in their use. One could blow up a candle to expand and become a firestorm, or one could concentrate Aether in such force that one could smooth rock into sharp projectiles.
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Shamans and druids use Winds to control Elementa Spirits, whilst mages and magi use Arcana to alter elements. Essentially this means that the Arcane Winds can be separated into its Arcane form, and its Aetheric form.
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In the past, the Elementa Spirits were nourished by the Arcane Winds, and from these winds they made many of the Unborn Worlds. When Ruination destroyed Solitude, the Arcane Winds were trapped within the Unborn Worlds, and from their accumulated Aether did an imbalance corrupt those worlds. Many Elementa, too, perished during this time.
Ruination
It is the End Times, the Final Days, the Bringer of Cataclysms.
Ruination is a pure and immense force of war, destruction, entropy, and loss. It is said that, as a bound Will of the Malignance, it travelled to many distant worlds and stars, and unmade them. It then grew immense and powerful for each world it had snuffed out, to the point where even the Unseen Abyss and the Omens no longer held any direct sway over it.
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Ruination is more like a natural, cosmic power, created by the Malignance to bear no personal free will. It simply adheres to the energies that sustain and empower it, or at least that's what it once used to do. As its powers has grown, Ruination gained its own Will, and while it is compelled by Malignance, it no longer answers obediently.
Ruination currently surrounds what remains of Solitude, where it has remained in a plane of its own; idle and dormant, as if asleep. In truth if Ruination was to come for the Reborn World once more, there would be no second chances again, weak as Solitude is in its Ethereal Light.
As the Omens grow more prominent, their influence over the Ruination also increases, and if they were to gain enough purchase, they could awaken the End once more, and forever extinguish Solitude's Light.
Unborn Worlds of the In-Between
The In-Between is the Aetheric Sky of the Reborn World. Here much Aether gathers as it travels along the Arcane Winds, but not before those Winds go through the Unborn Worlds. In addition, most of the Reborn World's own Ethereal Light amasses in the In-Between.
In total there are ten Unborn Worlds. These are minor realms that exist ​between and beyond the Reborn World, specifically in various planar realities bound to Solitude. Each of these worlds were created through a variety of often strange means, and some are more ancient than others. They were usually made for some specific purpose, either by the Divine Gods or by the Elementa Spirits.
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Ever since the Ruination, many of these worlds are now broken and faded away, and the barriers that once maintained their physical separation from Solitude have weakened. As such, traversal between the Unborn Worlds and the Reborn World can be achieved without much arcane effort, given enough Light is present to stabilize the connection. This has led to many planar creatures, demons, fey, and other otherwordly beings appearing in the Reborn World, usually via various rifts and chaos gateways.
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Omens have strong presences in the In-Between, and each has their claws firmly grasping at each of the Unborn Worlds, which has only served to further destabilize those worlds. The Omens have in fact since before the Ruination been affecting the fabrics of the Unborn Worlds, all to ensure that Solitude itself would break apart from the planar strain.
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The Unborn Worlds have also been described as the Dream Realms, as those in deep slumber often find themselves wandering throughout the In-Between, and eventually they might enter into one of the Unborn Realms. While generally not in any direct danger, those whose dreaming selves become too entranced (often at the hands of demons or foul spirits) might experience difficulties in waking up.
Worlds beyond Solitude - Could there be?
"Cala-Dium's libraries are second to none when it comes to the study of the stars, yet still the venerable Astral Scribes fail me in my most base queries, as I am yet to find any definite and conclusive evidence to the existence of other worlds in the cosmos. That is, beyond the mythic 'truths' shared to us by the Gods, of course...
Perhaps it isn't too unexpected, considering that we only knew of the cosmos after the Dark Gods had come to claim our own world, and before then all life on Solitude was content in having forgotten about an existence beyond the Astral Tapestry. Almost nothing from the Celestial Age has survived recorded history, after all.
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Yet, there must be other worlds out in the great cosmic Divide besides our own. Worlds of Light, of splendour and hope. Worlds not consumed by the Malignant darkness. All we have here are half-worlds, imitations of our own that are broken and torn.
Surely, it can't all be dead and gone out there, can it?"
- Hier
Onus
Wended Fade
The broken yet beautifully sombre and cold After-Realm of the elves, which is now the home of Wraithkin. It is a realm of eternal, calm winter, where the once flowery meadows and tranquil, green woodlands were meant to be the resting place of elven souls. During the Ruination, the Wended Fade was engulfed by the Omen of Solace, and the world's vibrant energies were sucked out to empower it.
The Wended Fade is home now primarily to the half-souls of elven Wraiths, whose apparitions struggle to maintain physical form, unless they manage to catch other souls to feast upon. Many of the Wraiths are forlorn and filled with hatred, as they're absent of any purpose. Most sane Wraiths have long since abandoned the Wended Fade, as they live mostly in the Reborn World now.
The ethereal, white spires of the elves have lost their form and splendour. Grand cities of the elven people, who once thrived in their colourful forests and peaks below golden skies, are now grey and forgotten. A lonely, wintery landscape stretches out throughout the Wended Fade, and it is described as looking through a broken, grey glass. Hopelessness reigns in the Wended Fade.
Nifhl
A swirling vortex which takes the image of all the known and unknown realms, worlds, and planes, and twists them together in the shadows. Nifhl is a realm of infinite possibilities, forever tumbling around in the void of a never-ending well.
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Soulless shadow-wraiths and dark demons also reside in Nifhl, where they float and wander aimlessly, driven only by madness. Many things warp and mutate within Nifhl, and any outsiders won't last long amidst the swirling chaos of unstable Aether.​
The landscape itself is indescribable, as it is everything and nothing all at once. Some who have beheld its visage describe Nifhl as the truest dream-realm, as what they see there can only be possible in a maddened mind's tumultuous nightmares. The common laws of sense and logic cease to exist, as time, space, and realities no longer function as they should.
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At the centre of Nifhl sits a singular, looming eye; always watching those who behold it, as it allures those of weak will to become its extension beyond this realm of insanity.
Hellsphere
The Hellsphere is a demonic realm, and it is what remains of the former Twelve Hells. During the Decadent Age, the Twelve Hells were where sinners, oathbreakers, and those generally deemed evil were sent after death. Their souls would face eternal punishment, and amongst the hellfire, magma, and deathly heat, their existence would be that of agonizing torture.
When Morla, the Divine Goddess of the Hells, died during the Divines War, the Twelve Hells fell into complete chaos. While the Divines War raged on in Solitude, the Twelve Hells were torn apart by their own destructive war, until they all merged together and became the Hellsphere.
The Hellsphere is an amalgamation of all the Twelve Hells, constructed with durable metal and hellish magic, to house and protect the last vestiges of Hell from the outer chaos. Primarily it is a prison-bastion, though most of its halls and cells are broken and unguarded. Devilish machinery and torturous devices are ever-present throughout the cells and halls of the Hellsphere. Surrounding it is a sea of fire; engulfing the Hellsphere, but kept at bay by a strong magical barrier.
Most of the souls that were once imprisoned in the Twelve Hells have long since escaped and become demons or half-demons, save for the most terrible ones that are still held and watched over closely within the prisons of the Hellsphere. The wardens of the Hellsphere, former seraphs and some demonic overseers, remain vigilant to their duty, despite having no gods to serve.
Heimgard
The cloud-kingdom and home of giant and titan souls, who once reigned in the Mournfrosts. It is said they built a fortress city so tall and so high up amongst the icy, glacial peaks, that it pierced the In-Between and became its own Unborn World.
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Heimgard, known among the Draugyr people as the Heimgard of Giants, was once a city which housed both giants and mankind. They lived together in the cold mountains of the Mournfrosts, as the Draugyr served the giants for their protection, and the giants were given gifts and wealth taken from distant lands.
At some point, the Omen of Austerity began to take hold of the giants, and then they closed off their gates to all outsiders, even of their own kin. They began to build upon their city, layering ice upon ice as the winds and frost grew ever more harrowing. Eventually the city pierced the skies, and disappeared into the In-Between, where it has remained ever since, even managing to avoid the worst of the Ruination.
Even now, the giants continue to build upon their endlessly climbing city, into frozen skies. Few from the Reborn World have seen any of the giants since they began building, and fewer have ever reached the top of the eternal city.
Amon-Dras
The Final Rest of the dragons, where the skeletal remains of the Dragon Queen, Ancient Matron Mordraga are found. The Spectral Dragon watches over what remains of her brood, amidst the flutter and rain of ash and plumes. Mordraga and her feathered brood have isolated themselves atop the impossible, red peaks of flame and wind.
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Since the last dragons in Solitude were slain by mankind near the end of the Abyssal Age, their ghostly remains and echoes have resided in Amon-Dras. The realm itself takes the form of a gigantic mountain, split apart into several precarious cliffs and impossible-to-reach nests. It is a swelteringly warm and dry place, with harsh winds chipping away at the brittling stones. The apparitions of dragons of all sizes, formed from faded souls and memories, cling to the many nests and crevices.
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It is said that the Ashed Plumes, carriers of dragon memories and echoes, fall to Solitude from Amon-Dras; shed by Mordraga from atop her palatial nest, at the very summit of the mountain.
Shattered Heavens
Once the heavenly after-realm of most human souls, the White Heavens were also the homes of the Divine Gods, who beheld ivory citadels and marbled realms of their own within the White Heavens. Their servants in living life would join them in the White Heavens in their afterlife, and when they had served long enough, their souls would return to the living world to repeat the cycle once more. Some were even elevated by Divine Light, and ascended as angelic seraph servants.
However, when the Divine Gods died and didn’t return to the White Heavens, their angelic servants became the Heavens' main custodians. For a time, they would look after all the wayward souls lost in the Divines War, but when Ruination came, there was no more room in the Heavens for them. The Heavens broke apart, and the angelic seraphs fell down to Solitude. Only Shattered Heavens remained; a broken legacy.
What remains of the Heavens themselves are ruins and fading temples and sanctuaries. What few seraphs that remain up there continue their Divine Duty, despite having no Divine Gods to serve.
Aeterna Soulscape
A large repository of dead souls. The lands of Aeterna is one of unliving, where souls go to die, absent the cycle once perpetuated by the Divine Gods. In a sense it seems like a serene realm, as it is a place of eternal silence, save for the low yet peaceful hum of a low wind.
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Aeterna is described as an endless, dark, grey plain, illuminated only by a faint glow of a cold moon that isn't there. Ash and dust stretches on eternally in all directions, and amidst the sands are half-buried the remains of many, many bones; of beasts and of men both.​
What souls that are present in Aeterna are slowly crumbling; cursed by entropy to be deconstructed to their basest form, until nothing remains of their memories, being, or existence. As souls depart from Solitude, they are drawn to Aeterna, and their rebirth will be rendered impossible. Unless a soul is bound to one of the Goddess Waithyc's Veils, as she tries to spare souls eternal death.
Verdant Havens
A realm of various fey creatures and magical beasts. The Verdant Havens are lush, ancient, and filled with life; at first look it appears as a realm of tranquil, natural paradise. However, since the Ruination, the forestlands and jungles have become darker, poisoned by wild corruption, and mutated grotesquely. Only a few havens remain, where the feyfolc or beastkin inhabitants remain somewhat relatively safe in sanctuary.
It is believed that Wyldra, the Dead Goddess of Growth, Dreams, and Hunts, created the Verdant Havens as her personal hunting grounds. Of course, after her death, the Verdant Havens began to decay absent her care, and nightmarish monsters and dark sprites began to appear throughout the woodlands. Her children, the feyfolc, went insane from her absence, and in an attempt to keep her Light alive, many of them consumed her corpse, which only led to further savage insanity.
The Verdant Havens themselves appear to be growing with no cease, as the thorny woods and vines of toxic glades have long overgrown. Hidden within these depths are the mutated plants and animals, who hunt not on instinct or survival, but for savage sport. Amidst the chaotic wilds lie the ruins of ancient Verdant temples, covered in thorns that have torn them apart.
Carndrust
Carndrust is a wild realm of primal beasts and natural monstrosities. This was once where the souls of all beasts and animals returned to before they were reborn from the Elementa Spirits. It was a realm of woodland wilds and untouched nature, where all the souls of the wilds roamed. It was one of the first Unborn Worlds, as designed by the Elementa, and it was the First Dream that mortals visited.
At the centre of Carndrust's forests was a harmonious glade, where the Primordial Fount was found. Through this Fount was reborn all beings, as their souls were restored with clean Aether.
Now Carndrust's lands are corrupted by Pandemonium, where the beasts are overcome by aggression and bloodthirst. The Fount found within Carndrust was once pure in white water, but has since turned crimson in the Wild Blood. It is through this Wild Blood that the souls of beasts have become so feral. Various werebeasts, vampires, and other mutated creatures originate from the corrupted Fount's Wild Blood.
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Carndrust itself is a hue of dark red, like a bloodied dawn is always on the rise. Sometimes this eternal dawn suddenly turns to twilight, and it is then that the darkest beasts and night-time hunters come out to feast upon the other creatures of Carndrust's woods.
Lunafae
Lunafae is a realm of the elves and fey. It is a vast forestland of fungi and glowing trees, set under the reflection of a pure-white moon. There is a blue hue that glows all over Lunafae, as it is forever cast under a blanket of tranquil night sparkling amidst wisps and fey lights. Arcane magic is strong is this realm, as it feeds upon the lunar Light cast by the reflection moon.
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Much has remained as it always has been in Lunafae, even after the Ruination. The elves who reside in Lunafae have remained themselves, without being affected by the Wraithcurse. Alongside them are the many fey creatures, who guard Lunafae's magical springs and forests. Sometimes Lunafae's realm temporarily merges completely with Solitude's lands, be it in the glades of forests, or the fungal depths of the underground Neaths.​
There is, however, a darkness that hides within Lunafae; an unknown entity that has yet to reveal itself. It is believed to be the creation of Celestia, as it is something mystical that makes secrets of its surroundings. From unknown arcana, beings mired in magical mysticism have slowly taken control of parts of Lunafae, and their influence only continues to spread as the light of the moon wanes in the darkest corners of the realm.
Reborn World of Solitude
Solitude might refer to the physical lands now known as the Reborn World, or it might entail all within the local universe, such as all the worlds inside the In-Between. Most, however, speak of the Reborn World when they make mention of Solitude.
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Solitude as it is today is very different from its existence before the Ruination. Back before the Divines War, Solitude was a realm of brilliant Light, from the powerful merging of Dignant and Numen Light cast by the Primeval Worldsoul, to the spiritual and deistic Light that empowered the Divine Gods and the Elementa Spirits. Together, the Light of the world made a Decadent Age, one where golden light shone brightly, and all creatures and peoples enjoyed a world of decadence.
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There were, however, some who were discontent with such divine Light, and remained steadfast in their obsession over the stars instead. Xaraxas, last of the Celestial Empires, pierced the stars and summoned the Dark Gods; as was designed by the Omens. As the chaos of the Divines War raged on, the Unseen Abyss seeped into Soliude, and covered the lands in its darkness to create an Abyssal Age. The Dark Gods' influence spread, and they led grand armies formed from Xaraxas' enslaved populace. The Divines War was fought, but the Divine Gods and Elementa Spirits found themselves lacking against the Dark Gods.
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As the last Divine God fell, Ruination came, and the Primeval Worldsoul was consumed and broken apart by the Abyss, and its Light extinguished. However, it wasn't long after that the Dark Gods decided to relight the Worldsoul via Nerasûn, and in doing so they expelled the Abyss and the Omens, and brought back Solitude: the Reborn World.
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The Reborn World has since struggled to maintain itself. The general flow of Aether is largely unstable, the Ethereal Light thin, and the denizens of these lands overtaken by grief and hopelessness. The Dark Gods themselves try to bring balance by taking charge of the domains of the former Divine Gods, but their disagreements with each other has led to great wars and conflicts too.
As of now, the Dark Gods are preoccupied trying to create order throughout the Reborn World, while also trying to ensure that the Omens don't gain a strong foothold. Because if the Omens should return with the Unseen Abyss, they could ensure Ruination's return, and then the Reborn World would be consumed and destroyed for true.
The Neaths
The Neaths are the Underground Realms beneath the Reborn World, where the insectoid Chitric and the dwarvish Vaulters once endured. It exists below the darkened crust of the surface, and is said to be just as vast, if not vaster than the upper lands, as it creeps far into the depths of the world.
It is here the Naithic Empire once ruled, as its inhabitants dug out complex and expansive cities and tunnel networks all throughout the Neaths, where they used stars and moonlight to craft their own artifical stars to light up the darkness. Now it is home to underground beasts, demons, and other dark creatures, as well as the Machina creations of the Naithic Empire, such as the Dredge, who still toil in the ruins of their former masters. Freed Dredge have broken away from their enslaved nature, and established vast Hive Colonies on the surface, that connect to their own Deep Hives, built amidst the ruins of their former masters.
The Naithic Empire's legacies are the expansive tunnel-network itself, which is capable of hosting several distinct sets of ecological systems, climates, and geological wonders. Fungal forests, crystal caverns, lava lakes, elaborate chasms, and maze-like cityscapes spread evenly throughout the underground realms. But most of all, their greatest legacy is the stars they crafted, and the Machina born from those stars.
The Neaths are inhabited mainly by various insect monstrosities and Abyssal entities, who now make use of the underground empire's structures and tunnels as their own lairs. None of those civilizations who once thrived in the underground remain, and the once glorious halls and tunnels have been robbed of greater Light, absent the Primeval Worldsoul that was once housed at the Neaths' core.
Aside from the Naithic Empire, another group was known to dominate the Underground Realms, known as the Vaulters, though previously they were referred to as dwarves. For the dwarves, the Neaths were a salvation for their people, as they dug down during the Divines War, and built massive underground fortresses and cities, called Vault Cities, for where they would endure and survive the apocalypse raging on the surface.
Little else is known as to what became of the Vaulters, as all their known Vault Cities are filled with their dead, broken apart, been infested with monstrosities, or have been completely abandoned. However, there are many Vault Cities still unaccounted for, and it is believed that, while some might have fallen or destroyed themselves, some of these cities might have survived deep, deep down in the cold dark, in isolation; unaware that the Ruination ended.
Most of the Neaths is unexplored and unmapped, and there are many ancient secrets hidden in the deep beneath of the world. But most of all the Neaths are realms conquered by the Unseen Abyss, as its darkness has laid claim to much of the underground, where the Light can't reach.
The Unseen World
A reality which exists between the Reborn World's fabrics, believed to be closely intertwined with the Unseen Abyss, though somewhat tangible and interactive.
It exists primarily in places of high Abyssal corruption, such as beyond the Machine Wall in the lands of Xaraxas, or in the depths of the Neaths. Most of all it is what is 'outside' of the known world, where lands once thrived, but where now only void and darkness reigns. Some call it the Nameless World, but most know it as the Unseen World; the world where the Abyss resides, whose lands only continue to grow as the years go by.
It is, by the Unseen Abyss' mind, what Solitude was meant to be: denied of all Her Light.
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A great portion of the Reborn World is no longer 'there'. Those lands exist within the void of the Unseen World, as the twisted lands that couldn't be saved during Solitude's rebirth, and that instead surrounds the remaining lands of the Reborn World.
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There are various pockets all throughout the Reborn World where the Unseen thrives; such as in places of deep shadow, or where the Unseen corruption has taken hold thanks to cultists or despairing folk. It is as if the world itself changes around oneself in an idle blink, as it becomes a world of creeping shadows and dark decay. The Unseen Abyss seeks to claw its way into Solitude, to consume the Light whole once again as it tried to before.
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The creatures that reside within the Unseen World are ones of purest void, like demons and Abyssal terrors, of cosmic madness. Shades of ancient memories, of tortured souls and forgotten miseries are all around the space of this twisted worlds, and sometimes the luring whispers of Omens, in the guise of loved ones, call out to those in the Light, so they might entrap them in the Unseen.