Background- The World



 The Nature of the World 

-The World (also known as the Mortal Realm, Gaia, Terra, and a host of other elaborate names in many languages) sits at the apex of two domains: the Astral Sea and the Elemental Chaos, while around it spin two moons: the Moon of the Feywild, and the Moon of the Shadowfel. Beyond this cosmology lies the Far Realm, a churning cosmos of stars, vacuum and madness, which forms the space between the many worlds the Gods have created.

-Upon the world sit wide oceans, heaven-splitting mountains, dense forests, arid deserts and swaying plains, all hospitable to life (for the most part). Primal spirits, beings given sentience by the raw magic that flows through the world, guide and guard these elements, and the natural beasts that dwell upon them (mortals included). Mortals can call upon these Primal powers for strength, and through their influence, the world maintains a modicum of temperance and balance.

-The influence of the other realms seeps through into the natural world, however, and upsets this balance. The Arcane Winds, untamed since the fall of the Primordials, the original stewards of the Arcane, blow across the world, empowering monsters and mortals alike with Arcane magic; similarly, the prayers of mortals are granted power through the influence of the Divine powers of the Astral Sea. The Feywild and Shadowfel seep into the world as well: certain nights, based on the phases of the moon, the dead may walk upon the earth, given sentience by the Shadowfel's influence, while other nights, the forests teem with fairies, some here to revel in the mortal realm, others for darker purposes...

-The Astral Sea is the star-studded realm of the Gods, an ocean of raw divine energy and light upon which the realms of the Gods (good and evil) float through its eddies. Angels from Mount Celestia and devils from the Nine Hells wage war upon great battlefields. The Gods visit their eternal, idyllic realms to enact their will in the World, while their Exarchs govern these realms and guide the faithful on earth. Divine energy flows from the Astral Sea into the mortal world, empowering those who call upon it.

-The Elemental Chaos is a churning, roiling cataclysm of raw elements clashing together in eternal entropy. Beings of pure fire, water, earth or air ply the depths of this wild realm, Archons and Elementals, the only beings who can truly survive in such conditions. In the depths of the Chaos lies the Abyss, the black maw of pure evil formed by the God-Who-Went-Mad in the first age. From here the Primordials, now known as the Demon Princes, bicker and battle against one another, sending their Demons into other realms to torment the living, the immortal and the dead. From here, the Winds of Magic, untamed by the Primordials will, flow into the other realms, and provide the source of Arcane Power.

-The Feywild is the wilderness untamed, a land seeped in magic, which, in many ways, resembles a living storybook. A narrative permeates every aspect of the Feywild, and legends, songs and myths come to life in the visages of the Fey; sprightly or wicked, the Fey forms mirror and pantomime the dreams of mortals. The Eladrin and the Gnomes hail from this wild place, and their kingdoms mostly reside here. Above all the Feywild is a place of dreaming, and a place of nightmares...

-The Shadowfel is the land of the Dead, once governed by the Raven Queen, now spiraling out of control. Vecna and other Undead princes have populated this darkling realm with vile undead, and the Drow, outcasts and traitors of the Elven realms, have taken their place in its eternal dark. Vampire Lords, Demon Princes, Drow Houses, Liches and untamed servants of the Raven Queen all battle for rule over the dead, while the souls of the departed, unprotected, are enslaved to their dark wills. The afterlife offers small promise of peace in this age.

-The Far Realm is a madness mortals were not meant to know...