The Middle Realm
Axis of Solidity, the Prime Material. The Middle Realm where mortals reside. It is the most cosmologically stable of all the planes, and serves as the base planar axis in conjunction with the Eternity Tree from which the multiverse expands upon.
Transitive Planes
Astral Plane
Ethereal Plane
Shadow Plane
Faerie
The otherworld of the fey.
Inner Planes
The Elemental Planes
- Elemental Plane of Air:
- Elemental Plane of Earth:
- Elemental Plane of Fire:
- Elemental Plane of Water:
The Energy Planes
- Negative Energy Plane:
- Positive Energy Plane:
Outer Planes
| Exalted Throne (Temperance) |
Tranquility's Rest (Kindness) |
Blessed Garden (Charity) |
Primal Heart (Humility) |
Ever Bloom (Patience) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Serenity Harbour (Honesty) |
^ Good ^ | Valour Fields (Diligence) |
||
| Reaper's Hall (Judgment) |
< Lawful < | Eternity Tree (Concordance) |
> Chaotic > | Shatter Kiln (Change) |
| Grey Wastes (Sloth) |
v Evil v | Bounty's Maw (Gluttony) |
||
| Immaculate Labyrinths (Pride) |
Grapsing Pits (Envy) |
Gilded Depths (Greed) |
Jade Nethers (Lust) |
Fury Fields (Wrath) |
| Abyss | ||||
The Seven Heavens: Virtuous Paradises
- Blessed Garden—Heaven of Charity. Selfless souls are rewarded for their generosity and sacrifice with having every want and need in this paradise.
- Ever Bloom—Heaven of Patience. The merciful and forgiving who walked their own path find themselves residing in this paradise of eternal youth and whimsy.
- Exalted Throne—Heaven of Temperance. The wise and disciplined are given their just rewards in this magnificent kingdom.
- Primal Heart—Heaven of Humility. Those who recognize the grandeur of nature, and their place within it, reside here in harmony with untamed flora and fauna.
- Serenity Harbour—Heaven of Honesty. The fair and the just are rewarded in kind in this paradise where there is no need for shame or falsehood, and one's self is unconditionally accepted by all..
- Tranquility's Rest—Heaven of Kindness. The compassionate reside here in peace, where every want is satisfied.
- Valour Fields—Heaven of Diligence. The brave and the bold reside here, forever challenging themselves in order to perfect themselves.
The Twin Purgatories
- Reaper's Hall—Purgatory of Judgment. The dead must first make their way here to be judged fairly without bias.
- Shatter Kiln—Purgatory of Change. Souls seeking escape can lose themselves to the endless maelstrom of creation and destruction, and re-emerge as something new.
The Seven Hells: Wicked Perditions
- Bounty's Maw—Hell of Gluttony. The souls and savage demons that reside in this realm are locked in an endless cycle of devouring and being devoured, yet never able to satiate their hunger.
- Fury Fields—Hell of Wrath. This Hell is an infinite battlefield, strewn with battered fortresses, broken war engines, and ongoing clashes between many armies as far as the eye can see.
- Grasping Pits—Hell of Envy.
- Grey Wastes—Hell of Sloth. A vast plain of muted colours and despair, where the air saps the will to take action from all who enter.
- Gilded Depths—Hell of Greed. A bottomless pit of gold and other precious metals and gems that draws in avaricious souls into its depths.
- Immaculate Labyrinths—Hell of Pride. This unending sprawling maze of halls of this Hell appear to be of the finest quality of marble and gilding, but only serve to mask the rotted nature within them.
- Jade Nethers—Hell of Lust.
The Cosmic Fulcrum
Eternity Tree—Axis of Concordance. Grounded into Midgard, its branches reach out to the upper and purgatory planes, while its roots connect to the lower planes, and brushed by the Abyss.
The Abyss
Below the Lower Planes rests the Abyss, realm of the udug-hul.
The Outsider Injuction
Natives of the outer planes, called outsiders, are barred from being present on the Prime Material or directly communicating to the natives of that plane. Because of their inherent cosmic power, the unrestricted presence of an outsider on the Prime Material plane can warp or even break its metaphysical laws that holds the plane together, like dropping a iron dagger through a cloth fabric.
Even knowledge sourced from the outer planes is dangerous, as information is the source of all metaphysics. Even the simplest spoken word from an outsider carries incomprehensible cosmic power that will overwhelm a mortal's mind, like how a flood overwhelms a small creek. Midrealmers are not completely at its mercy for they have grown natural defences. For the most part, the midrealmer's mind instinctively ignores and forgets any information given to them by an outsider, leaving only vague feelings or imagery from what little their mind could interpret. In the worse case scenario, the outsider's information can drive a midrealmer insane, or even kill them.
These are the reasons why entities as powerful as the gods do not directly intercede in the affairs of mortals or speak to them directly.
To protect the Prime Material, the Creators decreed the Outsider Injuction which prevents all outsiders from being able to travel to the Middle Realm at will or seek out direct contact with its natives. However, the Injuction does establish specific processes that allow varying levels of outsider involvement to safely occur. These processes generally require a connection with a native of the Middle Realm, and is limited by their personal power.
The summon monster spell conjures a limited portion of an outsider's existence, which is why they are unable to utilize some of their powers or their full strength, and why the death of aspect on the Prime Material does not harm their true self. They are still barred from directly communicating with their summoner.
Contact other plane, commune, and similar spells do allow direct, albeit limited, communication between midrealmers and outsiders. The limitations exists to keep the contacter safe; the true words of any outsider easily harm Midgardian minds except those who have achieved high levels of power.
Lastly, there does exist magic that does allow circumvention of the Injuction, thanks to the concept of bargaining. Spells like gate and planar ally require the midrealmer to pay a sacrifice appropriate to the level of direct involvement from the target outsider. It is the sacrifice that mitigates the metaphysical disruption of the outsider's presence in the Prime Material. However, such magic always has the risk of breaking the Injuction, resulting in a "cascade", the unchecked spilling of outsiders into the Prime Material which could destroy that reality.
Note that the other planes of reality are fully capable of supporting an outsider's presence. All of the other planes are open to outsiders, however be aware that the Injuction still applies to any outsider interacting with a midrealmer outside of the Prime Material. Midrealmer minds can still suffer from an outsider's true words, whether they be on the Astral Plane or the Eternity Tree just as if they were on the Prime Material. Even more, their destruction can ripple back to the Middle Realm and cause a chain reaction of events the Injuction was meant to prevent. Only when a midrealmer's soul is released from their physical form and pass through the Gates of Death can they fully and directly interact with outsiders.