Aragir's Theory

A brief explanation on Planes and History

Wondrous Item, unique

First, to get into the matter of the nine planes of existence, one must acknowledge that they are there. It was the hundred-year war that taught us that we were not alone, and over time we have discovered that there were nine other 'worlds'. Though perhaps like ours in their bare essence, they were very much different; Some benevolent, others very hostile.

Colloquially, they are referred to as nine dimensional layers, though evidence suggests that these planes in fact inhabit the same time and space simultaneously.

For our basic understanding, we should start with dissecting these layers. The nine layers are named respectively, though not exhaustively, as follows;

The Material Plane; This is the plane in which we exist, ruled by the laws of physics as we know it. Characterised by the sensible and tangible, in this plane the universe lives into perpetuity.

The Astral Sea; Though brightly lit, this plane is mostly characterised by its absence of content. While time theoretically moves in sync with that of the Material Plane, all of its effects are slowed dramatically. In the absence of hunger, aging or anything that makes us mortal, a thousand years could feel like a single day on this plane.

The Ethereal Plane; An ostensible copy of the Material Plane, perhaps it could be seen as its shadow. That which exists in the Material, exists here as well, albeit in a different form where weight and mass do not have the same meaning. In this plane, one would feel weightless, and would be able to pass through anything but organic material. Those who can see into this realm, are often able to spot that which is invisible in the Material Plane.

Pandemonium; This realm consists of seemingly endless tunnels, rife with sharp mountains and cliffs. The immensely strong winds that course through these tunnels perpetually carry with them every word, scream and sound that ever found its way there. Those who are exposed to it will get damage to their hearing in mere seconds, and will be completely deafened only moments later. Communication is only possible through yelling in close proximity.

The Abyss; A realm of pure chaos, home to devils and demons. The creatures that live here are violent in nature, and cannot be reasoned with. All they know is to consume and kill each other for survival.

Elysium; A realm of seemingly endless nature. Devoid of celestial bodies of any kind, its skies nonetheless change in hue periodically, giving it its magical aesthetic according to those who have observed it.

The Elemental Plane; This plane consists of multiple endless demiplanes, each filled with one of the primary elements.

The Shadowlands; An endless realm that is home to ruined cities, forsaken lands and crumbled regions. Though this realm possesses no stars of its own and therefore lacks natural sunlight, it is dimly lit by the atmosphere itself. Perhaps it is the things that are either completely forgotten from our world's memory or banished that end up in this realm.

The Feywilds; This realm, a universe of endless nature and energy and home to immensely powerful creatures, is believed to be the original source of both us and the magic that we know exists in our world. Theories state that in the ancient past, our ancestors migrated from this plane, looking for a better world. Perhaps it is this migration that caused its magic to leak into the Material Plane, allowing us to enchant the scrolls that in turn gave us our spells.

Those who have grown complacent with their lives and Gods, find this theory difficult to accept, despite the abundance of evidence that exists in its favour. For it is no longer their Gods that necessarily granted them magic, but an inevitable consequence of their originally alien nature. Perhaps we even were equal to the Gods themselves once, diluted into the peoples that inhabit Yggdrasil today.

And to this, I would add another theory; One in which the Gods are but parts of a grander universe, surpassed by mightier beings. Along with our research into the various planes of existence, we have found remnants of a far more ancient past. As scientists and philosophers alike have tried to understand these relics, a theory collectively known as the 'Creation Myth' was conceived.

The Creation Myth

The Creation Myth speaks of the primal giant Aetas, who was the first of this universe. Tormented by his loneliness, he shed tears that watered the soil beneath him, and from it sprouted a plant. With Aetas' love and care, this plant grew into the Tree of Life Yggdrasil. For millennia, the leaves of Yggdrasil were used to sow the seeds of life across the universe and together with Aetas' tears they were allowed to flourish. With the last leaf, Aetas created with his own last tear another giant. This giant he called Anima, and together they would watch over the universe until the end of time, with Yggdrasil at its center. The Tree of Life was soon restored, and grew into a giant tree that would sustain the life it had helped create.

To our regret, there is not yet enough evidence for this theory to surpass its status as a myth, but the evidence that exists is undeniable. Therefore, it is wise to take the theory into account for future research.

The Dimension Theory

Finally, there exists the theory that the nine planes are not what we had previously thought them to be. This is where my latest academic endeavours have mainly taken me;

What if traveling between 'planes' was no longer just for those who can control magic at the highest level? If we could commune with our Gods as if they were our brothers and sisters? True knowledge would no longer belong to a select few, but to everyone who seeks it. We could improve our society by learning from worlds yet beyond our reach. From the positive to the negative; everything has lessons to teach us.

There is reason to believe that the nine planes of existence are not in fact planes, but aspects of the same body. Many would imagine them almost being stacked on top of each other, hence the denomination 'planes', like different worlds occupying the same space where time is but a linear movement. But what if you would flip these 'layers' and they become one and the same? If 'when' becomes 'where', and 'where' becomes 'when'? What if we were infinitely delimited within our reality not because of physical boundaries, but because of what we can perceive? And this reality is what creates a sliver of order in an otherwise vast concoction of chaos? Where everything and everytime happens at once, in the exact same world?

To travel between these dimensions, we would need to see beyond our own finite reality. When we travel to another plane with the help of magic, it is in fact a resource originating from another plane that creates this pathway for us, and we remain ever so oblivious to its inner workings. I believe there is a way to transcend this veil, if we find out the true workings of our own natural elements and of magic both. For they are pure chaos by themselves, bound to order through the reality in which they exist. The reality that we have created, tamed with the conscience that our Gods might have given us.

And yet these elements rebel. And when they, occasionally, succeed, interesting things happen. I believe we already have evidence of this when we peer into the other realms, where time and elements do not act as they do in our world. We would need to rethink the concept of movement, time, energy, space, material and possibly everything as we know it today.

But then, how do we maintain our very essence that relies so heavily on the order in which we exist if we want to transcend into chaos? So far no one that has transcended 'reality' through' shifting', a practise in which magic is used to move an entity into another plane, has managed to return, possibly suggesting that their essence has been irrevocably lost.

A brief overview of the theories that support the existence of the 9 realms.

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