World-Building Website by Daniel-André Sørensen

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  • PROJECT THIRD ERA
    A fictional fantasy world project
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The Core Planes are three planes that exist within and alongside each other. They are the Spiritual Planes of Aetherius and Endomundo, and the Physical Realm of 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.


Most energies coming from outside Nym's Eye and from the Divide's Stream will arrive in the Core Planes, where the Worldsoul resides and strengthens the bindings that keep the Core Planes together, as well as controls the flow of energy in Nym. The Creators' efforts work to ensure that the Core Planes continue to exist, since if the Worldsoul should be extinguished, so too will Nym's Eye likely fall, and the Creators with it. Tariel's Soulbind made sure that Creators would forever be dependent on the Worldsoul, which he likely did to secure their dedication to protecting it and the Core Planes that contain it, although it is admittedly only a theory based on Arkathian scriptures. Tariel's true reasons remain a mystery.

Core of the Eye, Volume 1,
- Nashorn the Blue, Candlehold Scribe

 

AETHERIUS

Of the three lesser shards that broke off from the Worldshard, one was to become Aetherius. 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 Aetherius' dormant yet waking memories and the powerful energies from Nym's vast Worldsea were born the Aetherial; the First Spirits.


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


Aetherius is one of the two Spiritual Planes, and it is the home of the first Guardians of Nym, who aided in the nurturing of Primordial life. For a time the Aetherial travelled between the Physical Realm and the Spiritual Plane 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.


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


Aetherius 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. Aetherius is often seen as an imitation of Nym, where its lands correspond to those of the Physical Realm. Spiritual energy gathers in Aetherius, empowered by the Spiritsoul and used to feed the many spirits of not only Aetherius, but the Physical Realm as well. Spiritual energy resides in many things in the Physical Realm, but it is only in Aetherius it is at its purest.


When Aetherial die, they return to Aetherius to be reborn from the Spiritsoul. Mortal souls on the other hand will enter into Aetherius momentarily, but won't remain there as they travel towards the Great Fade. It is in this brief moment when a soul exists within Aetherius, Endomundo and the Physical Realm at the same time that it can be tampered with, and in some cases be used for necromancy or resurrection.


Souls that return to Nym from the Great Fade will also first enter into Aetherius. While there, a spirit will latch onto the soul and merge with it before it finds a body to be born in, and bypasses Endomundo in its entry to the Physical Realm. But when a soul travels towards the Great Fade it will have to first enter into Endomundo before it can reach Aetherius, and if it gets through and is fully within Aetherius' realm, it is cleansed of Endomundo's energies before it continues its journey to the Great Fade. The soul will also have its spirit separated from it, allowing that spirit to return to Aetherius, where it can regain its strength and await a new soul to merge with.

 

ENDOMUNDO

Endomundo, also known as the Shadow Realm, is an extension of Aetherius that was cut off. Spirits that were dangerous, violent and hungering were banished here by the Aetherial. Without the Spiritsoul it became a dark realm of shadows, and its inhabitants, the Shazari, became soulless demons. From their soulless existence they are unable to enter into the other Core Planes for longer durations, unless they find souls to possess and feed from.


This shadow plane exists alongside Nym, much like Aetherius, and is bound to the Physical Realm 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 Physical Realm. Endomundo imitates Nym like Aetherius 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 Endomundo to ensure that other Shazari couldn't somehow find a way to become new Elemental Titans.


Gaerdras was the Creator 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 Core Planes, 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 enter into Endomundo before they pass through and into Aetherius; where they again continue on to the Great Fade. It is when souls are in Endomundo that they are especially vulnerable, as the Shazari might attempt to consume or possess them. 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 Physical Realm, 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.


Particularly strong souls with strong Mortal Spirits can fend off the Darkspirits who seek to feed on souls in Endomundo, 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 Endomundo's dark energies, and in some cases remain between the Physical Realm and Endomundo as violent specters and ghosts; something which often occurs if a soul tries to flee back to the Physical Realm, or returns for something it might consider an important unfinished task.


Some souls might return to the Physical Realm 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 through, 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.

 

THE PLANET NYM

The planet we call Nym is where we live. It is the central world in Nym's Eye, and the physical plane where the other aetheric planes 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. Energies 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 Races. There are hundreds of civilized races living in Nym, and thousands of other living beings and creatures. Compared to other worlds like the Planeworlds 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 lifeforms.

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 Races. 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.