The Origin and Mechanics of Planes, Souls, Gods, Magic, Aeria and Life.

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=[ Origins and Mechanics ]=

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Originally for Aeria by Kain.
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Quote :: The Origin of Planes

The Origin, the Plane of Nothingness, or the Plane of Grey, is where Ao formed the first created permanence by sifting a mass of the muddled grey into one sphere of existence, now known as the Crystal Sphere. The Crystal Sphere was a mold, an almost fluid realm that contained all possible planes, forms of existence, and the potential to change, but lacked movement. Then, Ao further sifted the contents of the Crystal Sphere, dividing the world into Light and Dark, so that there would be distinction within the sphere. But in doing so, Ao split the uniform will of the single world, and created two separate Wills, one of Dark and one of Light. Yet, Light and Dark were incomplete without each other. Thus, the first Wills moved to complete one another. This was impossible, however, for by the decision of Ao, Light and Dark could not, on their own, combine with one another, they would forever remain 'different.' And so, the willed movements and contortions went on, in the fluid realm, eternally attempting to meet their unfulfillable directives. Thus, the Crystal Sphere began to to bounce and bend and stretch and skew and take shape as Wills moved eternally.

Quote :: The Origin of Souls

There was permanence, but fluid permanence. The world was constantly moving, and there were still no concrete structures beyond simple Light and Dark. Yet, at long last, movements in the chaos began to affect the entities themselves, and Light and Dark were further subdivided as were their original Wills, creating more Wills. This sped the chaos even more, and new Wills were formed again, and again, and again, whittling down the innards of the massive entities until Light and Dark were each composed of numerous Wills of varied kinds, all expressing different desires, born from different causes. Then groups of Wills came together and began to form the the beginnings of the very first souls. Because the souls were made of multiple and diverse Wills, they held a greater command over the planes of existence. Yet, more than simply holding more power, these souls, unlike the chaotic and spontaneous Wills from which they were born, held purpose and solidity, and began forming the first structures of the Crystal Sphere. Thus, the chaotic fluid realms did not calm, but rather, organized their chaos into uniform areas of movement and change. Ao watched on as his creation continued to take truer and truer shape.

Quote :: The Origin of Gods

As souls continued to form and develop, further refining their purposes, some held shared and similar purposes and devoted their beings to similar ways of existence. This shared devotion started combining the clustered Wills of the souls in a way never seen before, bringing fourth the creation of higher entities, the first conscious and sentient creatures, Gods. Again, the original purposes the souls would all devote to were furthering the respective existences of Light and Dark, and from these communally shared purposes came the beginnings of the very first Primal Gods: Ilithar, the God of Light, and Uluthar, the God of Darkness. Simple as they were, the Primal Gods brought the first true order to the worlds of Light and Dark, and coordinated within their realms to further heighten their existences. To do this, Both Ilithar and Uluthar realized the need to harness the power that brought them into being. Thus, they each worked within their realms to create Gods below them who would help shape their respective realms: Ilithar created Kossuth and Lathandar, and Uluthar created Selune and Shar. The younger Gods were no different than their creators, merely in command of less power, and holding more defined and specific purposes- yet in that way, they advanced further than their precursors, gaining more knowledge and progress through focusing their abilities rather than spreading them out.

Quote :: The Origin of Magic

At last, there was order and progress. True, unquestionable order, and focused progress, all toward shaping and sculpting the realms which these Gods had found themselves born in with no instructions beyond an internal curiosity to learn and understand, and the resolve to shape, and progress. Time progressed, and more Gods were born. Ilithar and Uluthar grew great and powerful, holding the knowledge and powers of their respective worlds at their whims. But, as all things do, this harmony would come to an end the day Sharess, the first Chaos God born from the Plane of Grey, would make herself known by destroying both Ilithar and Uluthar in swift and sudden attacks, freeing their collective powers and intelligence to be taken up by other Gods. The Crystal Sphere was shaken at its foundations once more. To the shock and awe of all the Gods, the laws that had long ago been set by Ao to separate the realms of Light and Dark from becoming one again were forever erased, and Gods of either side reigned their domains with freedom.

But a realization dawned upon the remaining Gods. They no longer shared a single purpose, and they were no longer equals. Jealousy was born, animosity grew, and the desires to take the realms and powers of other Gods had begun to take over, only held at bay by uncertainty, fear, and inexperience. But eventually, one Goddess, Mystyrl, a Goddess of Darkness and trusted daughter of Selune, gained the resolve to take from another. She approached the realm of Pouna, a weaker God of Light, unsure of what to do at first. During her approach, an odd sensation filled her, similar to the call of her own souls, merely from outside her realm. As Mystyrl came to understand the implications of her discovery, she resumed her attack and willed the energy of her souls to combine with energy she felt from the neighboring realm. A sudden burst of energy and power followed, and all within the Sphere felt the waves of energy resonated as entire chunks of the other realm were ripped out and moved to join with Mystryl and her realm. Pouna looked on in awe and terror, trembling, unable to resist as he and his realm were devoured. Thus, the act of harnessing the energy output by souls was discovered and named 'Magic,' and has long since been cause of conflict.

Quote :: The Origin of Aeria

The world and its Gods were now free to do as they pleased. Sharess's attack was as much a blessing as it was a curse. Enemies were formed, Alliances were made, but the Gods still reigned free, and divine energies of all kinds were traded left and right in both friendly and hostile manners. 'Magic' had grown popular with the Gods and it showed. Yet, among the grabs for power and magic gone awry, something had been been brewing in the backs of the Gods' Realms, another kind of spontaneous, but collective force, slowly gathering bits and pieces together, unbeknownst to the rest of the world, all pulling toward the center of the great Crystal Sphere. Suddenly, there was a blast of power and energy, a rush like the bursting of a geyser, or the toppling of a dam, and it moved like an unstoppable avalanche, rumbling toward the center of the world. The unexpected phenomenon was as much mystery to the Gods as it was a danger and a threat. Some Dieties, greater and lesser, perished immediately from its creation, having been unlucky enough to be in its wake, and their souls and realms were never recovered.

This channel of energy was like a vortex, a swirling cyclone of of power, and as it gathered in the center, it grew into a crashing cloud of chaos and energy bent on pure destruction, or so it would seem. The cloud grew and expanded in time, and the initial burst of flow from the expansive vortex torrent calmed only slightly, remaining a steady, though dangerous winding column. To the surprise and relief of the surviving Gods who observed the churning cluster, it ceased its growth at a point, releasing the gathered energy as something else entirely. The product was strange, at first, and for it seemed a giant clump of blackness that shined with luster in the light within the Crystal Sphere. This obsidian substance soon began to dissolve as it grew, and it did so differently in all places. It expanded, and lost its luster and darkness, gaining different colors and rocky mass, though whatever strength held it together had begun to lose form, and some of the rocky mass crumbled. Mounds formed at the top, dust and gas was blown off the once-obsidian exterior. From the black clump, substance after substance divided and gathered together. Water gathered in pools at first, quickly massing and growing to surround the large mounds of earth, forming the original continents and islands of Aeria. Energies from the storm beneath melted the earth and pushed up molten rock, bringing volcanic activity to the world. At last, the base from which Aeria would flourish was finally complete. The Gods, seeing this new world form, were still unsure of how or why it came to be... The World Storm, they called the core, for it's stormy mass, and the pieces of the world that it spawned from its clouds. Still, the Gods were wary to approach. Aeria would not see their face just yet.

Quote :: The Origin of Life

Life was, by far, the most impressive creation born of the Crystal Sphere. It had several beginnings, but only two from Aeria itself. The first beginning came from chaotic, energy-filled chunks of mass that literally rose above the rest of the landmass, suspended in the air through power alone. Within these masses, the same process that had created the Gods was taking place, but given their smaller and more concentrated size, the rate had rapidly increased. As the world beneath them was shaped, so too were the blobs, slowly lengthening out, growing appendages which would grow rigid and jointed, forming limbs. As the bodies were shaped, so were their minds.Their final form was that of the very first dragons, the Primal Dragons, sometimes referred to as Dragon Lords or Dragon Gods, so called because within them were the remnants of Deities that had been swallowed up by the River of Life and reformed by the World Storm. They had been reborn into the material plane, and assumed their rightful places as its rulers.

The second beginning came from the world itself. Just as Fire, Earth and Sea became primal forces of Aeria, their energies and Wills channeled through the great World Storm, so too did Life and it's energies. There were no vessels capable of holding souls beyond the first Dragons, but there were Wills, a world, and time, and these three things would be the sole reasons that the first simpler forms of life were born on Aeria through a process of trial and error. Larger they grew from humble beginnings, until came a time when a vessel of Wills did something unheard of in Aeria. The body had systematically assembled Wills and Energy, and within itself, created a new soul, the very first mortal soul. Life had arrived on Aeria.

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Quote :: The Mechanics of Planes

Planes are layers of divisions or subdivisions within the Crystal Sphere. The Crystal Sphere itself holds the Prime Plane that encompasses and allows both the birth and existence of all things. Within the Prime Plane are the respective planes of each God, and the Material Plane of Aeria. Between these main planes are transitional planes where few reside, interlinking all the subdivided planes through specific parts of the world. For example, the Shadow Plane can only naturally be accessed through the Shadows with the appropriate Shadow Magic. There are cases of beings existing that can forcibly link parts of one realm to another, including the transitional realms, this being the only exception to the rule of connection through contents. All of the transitional planes were formed entirely from Aeria. Their reaches, however, have expanded beyond Aeria's borders with its growth.

The formation of planes is entirely dependent on the Wills of the souls that define the plane's properties, size and power. Generally, unused souls have yet to take mortal shape or have already taken and left mortal shape, form the make-up of most 'neutral' planes. Some, however, are partially driven by souls of the living, such as the Elemental Planes and the Shadow Plane. The rest, however, are driven by their respective Gods, the Wills and Souls that they have added to their realm, and by the souls of the living that worship the God.

The size of a plane generally reflects the amount of souls keeping it alive and stable. Without souls or some source of energy, the plane would literally implode from weakened structure. Though planes are dynamic and constantly changing, the Primal Plane has seen a steady growth from outside sources, somehow slowly taking pieces of the Realm of Grey and making it The Crystal Sphere's own. This growth is somehow fueled by Aeria itself, and because of the power Aeria holds, Gods have and always will fight over it.

Quote :: The Mechanics of Souls

Wills are the most basic form of ideas. They are not thoughts, they are merely constants, and they are present in everything. Wills define the physical world as much as they define the spiritual world, having the power to affect aspects of it. A souls is combination of Wills contained in a realm of spiritual and magical power and energy. Within the soul, Wills work together and form the conscious existences and personalities behind people. A soul also has a greater command over matter and energy- some souls can have greater command than others, depending on the amount of Wills they contain, and the mass of the soul's sub-realm itself.

Wills themselves are separated into individual categories, and each kind of Will addresses a different part of existence. The two main divisions are Light and Dark, in which, all Wills are molded together and remain passive and indistinguishable from one another. The Wills of Light and Dark are inverse, and separating each kind gains you different base Wills. When these Wills are mixed, matched, and reinforced differently, they achieve varied forms of existence, far more different than the muddled grey from which they originated. This is what allows souls to be more complex than simply Light and Dark. Light and Dark remain a factor of the soul, but no longer the deciding factor.

The effect souls hold on the world is so powerful it creates a push or pull depending on the wishes of the soul or souls. This push or pull has sometimes been described as a current or a flow, and can be best described as Positive Energy, t he driving force behind Wills and everything else in the Crystal Sphere. When the flow is strong enough, it can even affect other souls, pulling them into the current. Aeria itself has a passive vacuum of souls and positive energy created from a very similar feeling: The Will to live. This Will is perhaps the most mysterious, spontaneous, and powerful of all Wills, and has been credited with the birth of Aeria. As such, the inward flow is called the The River of Life, and is manifested as an actual channel of energy and souls flowing from the rest of the Crystal Sphere into the core of Aeria.

Quote :: The Mechanics of Gods

When souls work in unison, their power transcends their own limits, and they affect Gods, either creating, empowering, disempowering, or even destroying them. A God can be viewed as a meta-soul that relies on other souls to act as its Wills. These meta-souls are held together by a Prime Soul, which is the core of the God itself, and when a God leaves its own realm, the Prime Soul is what is moving. Even outside its realm, the Prime Soul remains connected to the God's Realm, though much more loosely, falling into a more vulnerable state. A God's realm encompasses all the souls he carries, but is strengthened and enlarged by the affects of souls working in harmony with that of the God. Thus, those who worship and devote to a God give him strength, and those of greater souls hold greater value to a God.

Creating a God is rather simple. First, a Prime Soul must be chosen, this being a very highly developed and powerful soul consisting of more Wills than the average one. Mortals that achieve a 'Demi-God' status often have such souls. By worshiping in an existing Prime Soul, the souls of its followers can empower the soul into a meta-soul that holds a god-like level of existence. Ending a God is also as simple as not believing in him or disbelieving in him. While a God's realm may hold souls that are purely his or hers, they can be taken away by a strong current of positive energy from souls that wish to take from the God. The River of Life is the cause of most of these stolen souls, though sometimes in times of great change, a sudden shift in the masses may tear large amounts of souls from a God, and either move them to Aeria, leave them floating aimlessly in the Primal Realm, or move them to the next appropriate God's Realm.

Similar to the River of Life is the Pull of the Afterlife, an effect caused by a joint desire in the soul of a worshiper to meet and be blessed by their God, and the God's desire to gain another soul within its realm. The Pull of the Afterlife is actually composed of individual 'pulls' specific to each God. Even a soul that does not worship a Deity may sometimes be taken by this pull if there is nothing keeping the soul bound to Aeria.

Gods, since they are no more than a cluster of power and souls, are also capable of death. They are most capable of dying when they leave their Realm and enter another, leaving their soul most defenseless. Tor this reason, most Gods will prefer using just an avatar, a weaker representation of themselves, to work in foreign realms. A God can also be killed in its own realm, though with much more difficulty. Gods have been viewed as 'unbeatable' by mortals only because most are too afraid to try, or lack the necessary power. In reality, it is the mortals who hold the most power over the Gods, which is partly why a God wants a majority of souls to believe in him at all times. When a God dies, it is the Prime Soul that is being destroyed, and a myriad of Wills is set loose, causing a wave of chaos from the souls now set loose. A newly taken realm from a dead God is the most chaotic kind.

Quote :: The Mechanics of Magic

When the Positive Energy that flows from all souls is manifested, it forms a new kind of force that affects the Wills of the world, be they part of a soul or not. By influencing the Wills inherent in all things, the Positive Energy can stimulate a desired effect out of any part of existing matter. This process and reaction, often mistaken as a different, independent entity by those who are misinformed or uninformed, is called Magic. Magic, like souls, takes on different forms depending on the Wills associated with the magic. Two main classifications of magic are, once again, Light and Dark, and all magic between Light and Dark is Arcane. Arcane is then further subdivided into Elemental magic. Finally, from each element, individual traits that define the Element are drawn, called Will magic, because the magic draws upon individual classes of Wills and is the basest, most incremental and divided form of magical flow there is.

It is not possible for all or most magic users to call upon these energies entirely from their own soul, because a single soul often contains a mismatch of Wills and not the focused set required for a desired effect. In order to use magic, one must learn to attune their soul to the desired class of magical energy. Each soul tends to have its own biases and may react more potently to some classes than others. Once one has learned to attune their soul, they can begin to influence magic by stimulating the Wills not merely within them, but around them, that they have become attuned to. By uniting more Wills of the same kind, one can further harness and prepare the magical flow required, and from there on, the energy must be arranged and affect other Wills accordingly to produce an affect. This final process has come to be called Weaving by mortals, and over time, there have been several different methods developed on how to accomplish this.

Quote :: The Mechanics of Aeria

Aeria can be defined as the center of the world, or the Crystal Sphere, and is a dynamic unification of all individual things, divided and separate in form, but unified in space entwined by functions, rather than meld together as an indistinguishable blob. Simply put, Aeria is a large and constant magical reaction. Aeria is dependant on the entire Crystal Sphere to exist, and has thus made the entire Sphere, including the realms of the Gods, dependent on itself.

At the bottom of Aeria resides the River of Life, the gushing torrent of energy, matter and souls that feeds and shapes the mass of Aeria. The River of Life encompasses all planes and affects all things, for it is composed of pure Positive Energy. The River of Life works entirely through the power Wills within souls that wish for life, power, and continued existence. Though it is described as a 'River of Life,' the maelstrom and vortex of power is arguably the most dangerous force in existence next to Ao himself. No mortal, immortal, or Deity would ever dare to approach it in their right mind, lest they wish to be broken apart and assimilated into Aeria.

Further up in the center of Aeria lies its very core, the World Storm, a churning and thundering cloud of energy that acts much like the Gods did when they first shaped and cultivated their realms. Oddly, though, the World Storm has slowly adapted its own pattern, selectively separating, recombining and placing matter and energy according to their types and subtypes. The workings of World Storm have fascinated Mortal and God alike, for no one knows quite how the Storm can work so harmoniously, yet remain autonomous and spontaneous.

Far, far above the World Storm, smaller, calmer and orderly channels of energy and matter lead up high from the Aerian core, eventually coming together deep beneath surface to form the foundations of the world now known as Aeria. Upon the surface, most things remain unaffected and slow, being the only truly safe area of the world. Almost all the major occurrences and radical changes made to the land are done so laboriously through its inhabitants, or commanded by Gods through their divine power. Yet, even from the surface, the pull of the River of Life and the World Storm can still be felt, and it affects all things equally. This force has come to be called 'gravity.' The World Storm pushes most things up through the center, thus keeping the world afloat, but sometimes water, gas, and rock can fall and topple off the edges of the world. All that is lost off the edge falls and falls until it is met with and re-assimilated by the mighty River of Life, where it repeats its cycle of being.

At the very top of the surface, in the deserts of Sida rests glimmering Black Temple, where the energies brought together by the Gods of the Aerian Pact, and the latent energies born from Aeria, are harnessed by Mystra, Goddess of magic, and released all across Aeria as its own woven realm, known as the Weave. The Weave is contained only to Aeria, and works by taking the energy of Wills and spreading them across Aeria in a united, orderly, usable form. Above the surface is a vast and empty expanse where the world is pushed and pulled apart by the, the Pull of the Afterlife, Call of the Death, or the Call of Kelemvor, an effect caused by the united desire of all Gods to return the souls taken from them by Aeria and the River of Life, and this is mostly done through the use of the Weave.

Quote :: The Mechanics of Life

At first, all was thought to be constant in the Crystal Sphere, that nothing could be changed. The Gods would feud endlessly over the same space, the same souls, the same, unchanging world. The introduction of life made this belief obsolete. It was first assumed that no souls could ever be created again passed the original formation of the Gods and their realms. However, when the River of Life first cut through the further reaches of the Crystal Sphere and took several Gods with it, many souls were disassembled, assimilated, and used to generate the energy that formed Aeria. The Wills of these souls, through time and interaction, began reassembling themselves. They took the form of small, mindless lifeforms, simply following the Wills that urged them. Slowly, as the physical manifestations continued to grow, expand, and combine the separated Wills, a new kind of bond was created between them, a mortal bond. When the first sentient creature was born, so too was the first mortal soul, one unlike all other souls before it.

Life is fueled by Wills. The basest form of life will always contain a small cluster of Wills. Birth is the harvesting and forming of Wills- the creation of life through body, mind, and soul. Occasionally, a soul may be reborn, in which case it will be reinforced and stronger than in its previous life. Without a body, mind, and soul, something cannot be truly alive. A mortal soul, unlike a divine soul, can sustain itself much better, and all on its own. The potential for a mortal soul's growth, however, is not as large as that of a divine soul, which can grow to the level of greater deities. It is possible for mortal life to ascend to immortal heights, even to the level of deities, but it comes with its own sacrifices.

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