World Axis cosmology The World Axis was a cosmological model used prior to the Second Sundering . This structure , which resembled a sphere split into two axes , hence the name , resulted from the Spellplague and its effects upon the local multiverse , which included the untethering of the astral dominion s and the creation ( or possible return ) of the Elemental Chaos . As a result of the changes wrought by the disaster , the formerly prominent World Tree model was abandoned in favor of the World Axis , which most scholars believed more accurately reflected the current structure of the multiverse . Basic Structure . The World Axis was composed primarily of the fundamental and parallel plane s . " Above " and " below , " the fundamental planes encircled the rest of the cosmology , forming hemispheres in the conceptual model , though since both the Astral Sea and the Elemental Chaos were infinite in size , this was mostly metaphorical . To the " left " and the " right " of the Prime Material Plane , which laid at the center of this cosmology , sit the parallel planes , which floated in sync with the Prime . Together these planes formed the World Axis , other planes lying outside of the model and having an indistinct cosmological placement . The World Axis was similar in many ways to the World Tree that came before it . Like the World Tree , the World Axis model placed the astral dominions " above " the Prime while placing the elemental and energy plane s , the precursors of the Elemental Chaos , " below . " Likewise , the Plane of Shadow , the Shadowfell ' s precedent , existed in close sync with the Prime . However , differences existed . While the astral dominions , elemental planes , and energy planes were all formerly bound together in a tree - like structure , the Spellplague destroyed these bonds , causing the astral dominions to float freely through the Astral Sea . Similarly , the Spellplague caused the elemental and energy planes to fall into one another , causing them to become one indistinct , ever - changing plane . The Shadowfell was also created out of the Plane of Shadow , incorporating into it some of the Negative Energy Plane ' s energy , and the Feywild , nearly forgotten for millennia , came back into sync with the Prime , regaining its place as a parallel plane . Prime Material Plane . Also called the natural world , mortal world , or simply the Prime , this plane laid at the center of the World Axis . While changed , the Prime continued to exist in spite of the changes wrought by the Spellplague , stable and at the center of the vast axes that binded the planes together . The Prime was where Toril and its inhabitants were located and remained the primary focus of the god s . The Prime had no single dominant force , unlike most planes , and was connected to the other planes through the Shadowfell and , to a lesser extent , the Astral Sea and Elemental Chaos . Fundamental Planes . Surrounding the Prime and the parallel planes were the two fundamental planes : the Astral Sea and the Elemental Chaos . The fundamental planes , according to common theory , were the basis from which all the other planes , including the Prime and its echoes , were formed . Whether or not this was true is unsure and until the Spellplague , the Elemental Chaos was not believed to have existed , or at least not since the splitting of Abeir - Toril into two worlds . The fundamental planes were also the homes of the astral dominion s and elemental realms , smaller planes within the Astral Sea and Elemental Chaos . Only a few of these were known to the inhabitants of Toril , however , and it is believed that if one traveled far enough through the infinite spaces of the fundamental planes it might be possible to locate the dominions and realms of entirely different pantheons worshiped by beings from other material planes , though such a journey would be unimaginably lengthy . The two fundamental planes are as follows : Astral Dominions . Within the Astral Sea laid the astral dominions , planes separated and unique from the surrounding fundamental plane but which owed their existence to it . Formed from the will of the Astral Sea ' s inhabitants the astral dominions were once linked into an intricate network within the World Tree . As a result of the Spellplague , the formerly bound planes drifted freely in the Astral Sea . There were many dominions within the Astral Sea , the known ones being as follow . Elemental Realms . When the elemental and energy planes collided to form , or possibly reform , the Elemental Chaos most of them were lost , along with the other planes that fell into the mix , such as Limbo or Jotunheim . However , within the Chaos those beings strong enough and powerful enough to shape the materials around them were able to create new planes or preserve parts of old ones , either of which became known as elemental realms . Here numerous elemental creatures resided , alongside the mighty primordial s who first created the planes alongside the gods . The known elemental realms are listed below . Parallel Planes . Parallel planes were strange reflections of the Prime , formed by the will of the primordials in the age of creation who gathered what they considered to be imperfections of the Prime and created new planes from them . Parallel planes were the closest of the planes to the Prime and resembled it geographically , though they were very distinct in their own manner . The parallel planes were : Transitive Planes . These planes had little in common , except for their most common use : getting from one plane to another . A great number of spells that allowed travel from one plane to another briefly send travelers through one of the transitive planes before they reached their destination . Since the Spellplague the use of the term transitive plane had fallen out of disfavor , though the name ' s meaning still applied .