Wednesday 21 February 2018

The Worlds of Creation I

The Five Earths

image from here
Five material planes are known by scholars of such matters. Unlike the unstable potentialities of the Long Earth, the quasi-imaginary Outer Planes, or the Inner Planes of pure energy and mathematics, the material planes are 'Real.' This property, surprisingly rare, is effectively the single most important resource in the multiverse. Reality is like an anchor, without which things shift and change of their own volition, or subject to outside forces. Civilizations with the resources work to extract resources like gold, furs, and oil from the Long Earth, and tap into the energy of the Inner Planes to power magic and machinery. However, the Outer Planes hunger for the stability of reality. A being without 'reality,' like a spirit, can wink in and out of existence without warning. Souls, worship, even simple notoriety are all ways to confer Reality, but so is eating mortal food, bathing in a river, watching the sunrise, and many more esoteric methods. Many prefer more direct methods, however, and so the worlds of mortals have been the centre of cosmic conflicts since their formation.



not sure about the artist, think its from a WoD book

Draco          the world of the Sleepers.
Draco is the most populous human world. Separated from the rest of the multiverse by a great chasm in reality known as Ginnungagap, the tides of magic are sparse, manifesting as sporadic waves, channeled through the planes ley-lines, or coalesced into physical manifestations of mana.
The Somnium: Humans of this plane suffer from Disbelief, an ability that unravels magic and occludes the supernatural from their awareness. While they sleep, their minds form powerful dream-realms, and there are clusters of these realms called 'Skerries' all around the Material plane of Draco. It is from here that the most reliable source of magic flows, and the nature of dreams and skerries are closely tied to the position of nearby ley lines.
Lords of the Shadows The effects of the Somnium on non-humans varies, but it is a pervasive and negative force. As such, Draco is populated nearly exclusively by humans. But the plane also supports a large population of vampires. They are sheltered amongst the crowds of humanity, and go out of their way to protect Draco's civilization from outside threats. Their powers function relatively flawlessly in the presence of Disbelief. The most severely hurt by the abyss are the elves, who grow sickly and malnourished as they are slowly starved of magic. Still, elves are one of the few races able to bypass Ginnungagap and travel in and out of the plane, so Draco is not totally bereft of their presence. Elves make occasional forays here, to procure childer or supplies, or else to study the Somnium, in hopes of preventing it from spreading to other planes.



Iseult         the dungeon planet
Iseult is a overgrown world teeming with monsters. A great core of crystal sits at the heart of the planet, and the abundant energy accelerates plant and animal growth, promotes mutation, and makes the land itself seem alive in its geography and it's intent. Vast networked tunnels of rust and metal passages criss-cross beneath the surface, hidding technologically super-advanced ruins, fused reactors of Orichalium, humming kazadite batteries, time-generators, and strange mutants and guardian creatures. 
The Pulse: The pulse is a wave of psychic energies, that moves across the plane like a great wind, and as regular and unstoppable as the tides. The pulse frequently sucks in planar travellers who come to close, hijacking flawed spells and breaching the containment fields of damaged vessels. The pulse hexes out electronic equipment, gunpowder, computer chips, and so on, so after a crash people are frequently marooned.
The Ma-Gith: Iseult is ruled by an empire of the Gith, marooned there generations ago when their damaged vessel was drawn into the plane by the Pulse. These Gith, like their brethren of the Astral plane, are a race bred for war, and have subjugated the much of the jungle and now rule the planet from their floating iron citadels.


photo by john sheer
Tara          the shattered reality
The former seat of the Reman empire, a technologically advanced civilization that expanded its influence across the multiverse, establishing colonies on most of the Five Earths, and numerous other planes. They are known today by the ruins of their crashed battleships, strange warp-gates, and their surviving colonies, including the cities of Zenith and Tash on the plane of Tristran.
Project Ragnarok: The scientists of the empire dabbled with powerful forces, attempting to bend reality itself to their will. The project backfired, and caused a seeping unreality that continues to eat away at parts of the plane. This mutating force, dubbed the Torque, has given rise to insane forms of life, strange mutations, and the bizarre traditions among the surviving beings in the radioactive ruins. 
The Solar Empire: When the unreality came, it set of a series of chain reactions within the great planet-spanning warpgates in orbit over the Empire's colonies. 



from event horizon
Tristran    the lost colony
Tristan was home to Tara's largest and most established colonies. After the disaster on Tara,the warpgate connecting the two worlds collapsed, and the empire lost contact with the colony. The paranoid colonists split into factions, and warred with one another. With access to horrifically powerful weapons, including torque bombs, they devastated much of the population, and the remaining factions exist only in two highly populated cities, each shielded by powerful magic.
TheInfinite City: Zenith, the capital of the Vale, is ringed by a circular wall a few miles around, but apparently extending infinitely into its centre. The population clusters near the edge, while certain neighborhoods move around within, controlled by a massive arc-like structure known as the wheelhouse. Outside, it controls a small nation situated on a fertile river delta and surrounded by smaller settlements.
The Wicked City: Zeniths enemy, the Witchocracy of Tash, controls the far side of the continent with their biomancy-fuelled adaptations. Although Tash claims to have 'won' the war, and claims more viable territory on Tristran itself, Zenith is ahead in establishing colonies on other planets, thanks to their alliance with the kings and queens of Seriphos, and their access to the gate-relics that alliance grants them. Tesh, though, has colonial ambitions as well.


Seriphos   the Last Homely World
Decadent, crumbling cities ring a sea lit by low-hanging stars. In the north, a line of light across the landscape, beyond which sits interminable darkness. The south, largely unexplored, is a land of steaming jungles, dominated by capricious wind gods and enormous dragons. Once a forgotten backwater, the collapse of the Remans left Seriphos as the greatest remaining population of humanity.
by pascal casolari
The Equinox. Every three hundred and three years, Seriphos enters into conjunction with Hell, and the hordes of demons spill forth. The last time that happened, it nearly spelled doom for humanity, and only the actions of the Unknown Hero forestalled the end. The most recent conflict ended with victory for humanity, thanks to an alliance between Zenith and the city-states of Seriphos. Now the forces of humanity push back against the demons, their airships sail with impunity raining bombs down on the hells, and the demon's capital chaffs under humanity's control. Still, demonic taint and unreality spreads throughout once untrammeled corners of the plane, and the champions of Seriphos scour the forests and mountains to root out the remaining monsters.
Oricalium:  Besides the obvious trade value, there are many alchemical uses for gold, namely to produce the insulating material Oricalium. Ships must be plated with Oricalium to traverse the Blind Eternity between the planes, and many spells require gold components. It is also one of the easiest materials with which to confer Reality, and is retrievable from many worlds that are otherwise unreal. Seriphos sits adjacent to several stable dimensions of the Long Earth, all rich with gold, and from here prospectors set out to stake their claims in this new wave of reality-mining.

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