Cosmology

Cosmology is the study of the cosmos—the structure, organization, and composition of all that existed. What most people would call the "known universe" was labeled the Core realm. It held the world of Xaekla, the moons, the sun, and extended out into ether. *How far* out into space was a question of cosmology. But there were many other realms, some very much like the Core and some so alien that they almost defied description. Like other dimensions, these other realms might overlap, surround, or penetrate the Core realm, or they might be connected by some mystic avenue, often requiring magic to explore. Together, all the various realms are referred to as the "multiverse" and they were the focus of cosmologists as they tried to map, measure, and understand the realms and their relationship to life, to death, and to each other.

There is one accepted model of the layout of the various realms within the ether and several which have been discredited over the years, this model is the Cosmic Web in which the realms are arranged and connected throughout a web of pathways leading from one realm to the next in an interconnected web.

## Basic Structure

In the center of the Cosmic Web is the Core realm of Xaekla which is then surrounded by Ethereal realm matter, the ethereal realm is not a physical realm that one can touch and be within without magical protection and ability other than creations meant to live within this realm, Outside of the Core realm are the Innerweb realms which contain the elemental realms and livable realms like Neraida and Kyris. Then there are the Outerweb realms also called the realms of law and nature in which many of the realms of Afterlife reside but also realms like that of Hapire which is a realm of metal and glass. Beyond the Outerweb is the Farweb which holds the realms of alignment, more commonly called the realms of Mortal understanding. The Innerweb, Outerweb, and Farweb are all within the Ethereal realm, separated by swaths of astral border and pathway which mix and blend with the ethereal matter surrounding it, you cannot see another realm from the surface of another, at least as far as we know, but from within an astral pathway you can see all the realms laid out like a map which is how scholars were able to fully map out the spread of the realms.

The Innerweb realms contained the elemental realms of air, water, earth, and fire, with smaller sub-elemental planes of light, smoke, ash, magma, ooze, and ice; the smaller sub-elemental planes are typically unmapped due to their vast unimportance. There are also the realms of life: Swuwal, Kweg, Madayus, Sokyal, Ki'mander, and the Everpools, these realms are inhabited by various sapient species which is why they are called the realms of life.

Demirealms can be found all throughout the Ethereal realm though, unlike all other realms besides Farweb realms, there are no passages which lead to them meaning that you would have to have a specific "key" in order to obtain access to a Demirealm. These planes may come into creation by way of a powerful wizard, god, or demi-god. Each Demirealm will collapse in on itself when its creator dies or if they are abandoned for a long enough period of time, in the case of their collapse they remerge with their parent Ethereal. These realms are also called private realms as access to them can be highly limited due to their disconnection to the main web.

## Core Realm

The Core realm is that of the realm of Xaekla, it is an immensely hospitable realm with various races of varying sizes and shapes and creatures of all make, making the Core realm the most livable out of all 42 known realms. The Core realm gained its name from it being well, the center of the known Cosmological universe, with all other realms surrounding it. It is unknown if said realms revolve around the Core or if they are simply bound in one place as a building may be if an immovable rod was built into its center.

## Innerweb Realms

The realms of the Innerweb are those which are of relative closeness to the Core realm, they are often also called the Material Realms or the Physical realms as they have a physical presence with different races and creatures oppisote to that of realms like the Hells or Heavens. These realms are highly hospitable with this reflecting in the numerous races that inhabit them and often have their own number of moons like that of the Core realm. Some believe that the realms of the innerweb are simply planets within the same solar system as Xaekla, or the Core realm, as each of these realms has only one sun which is the same in a size and appearance as the sun of Xaekla; but there are numerous others which claim this theory is highly unlikely and simply myth.

The Innerweb realms contained the elemental realms of air, water, earth, and fire, with smaller sub-elemental planes of light, smoke, ash, magma, ooze, and ice; the smaller sub-elemental planes are typically unmapped due to their vast unimportance. There are also the realms of life: Swuwal, Kweg, Madayus, Sokyal, Ki'mander, and the Everpools, these realms are inhabited by various sapient species which is why they are called the realms of life.

### Realms of Life

The Realms of Life are realms in which various sapient and sentient species exist and occur semi-organically, they hold various plant species and could be inhabited by races from other Realms of Life like Xaekla with similar ease if not a little bit of dedication.

* **Xaekla:** the realm at the center of the Cosmic Web, where all deities and beings have and will converge. There are a number of ancestries that have originated on the realm with a number of them originating from neighboring realms like the elves and ogiagians. It is a versatile realm with enviroments that can cater to the needs of numerous creatures.
* **Neraida:** one of the closest neighboring realms of Xaekla, it is covered in lush vegitation the cover the entirety of the realm in vast jungles and sprawling forests. There are no deserts or tundra's with the majority of the realm having a humid, tropical climate. A single day on the realm is 19 hours with just 1 hour being night.
* **Swuwal:** this realm neighbors Neraida and Xaekla, it is often confused as being Neraida due to the similar tropic climate and sprawling jungles. One can tell the difference between the two realms in the form of Swuwal's kukida trees and their fruit as well as the lengthier days.
* **Kweg:** a dark and cold realm covered in deserts of ash and black glass, it is home to the krynn ancestry. A single day lasts 24 hours with daylight taking up 5 out of 24 hours, making the realm a mostly nocturnal and frigid realm in which the species that reside here have adapted to survive the harsh conditions.
* **Madayus:** a bright, sunlit realm of expansive sand deserts inhabited largely by the mulai and inia ancestries.
* **Sokyal:** a realm composed of a single tundra with a multitude of massive mountain ranges and a number of species able to survive its elements. It has one dim sun and 7 moons of varying distances and sizes.
* **Ki'mander:** a somewhat newer realm created to house the various ancestries of noid. It is a realm filled with infinite mountain ranges and vast plains that never ends in order to be forever hospitable for the noidic ancestries and the other large creatures that reside on the realm, however, this vastness can make it extremely easy to get lost.
* **The Everpools:** a realm of lakes, rivers, and pools broken up by pockets of lands on which semi-aqatic species can take refuge. The everpools are know for the mermaid ancestries which inhabit it that migrated from their original home in neraidia.

### Elemental Realms

The Elemental realms are those which harbor an element of nature, these are also the realms from which a spellcaster may tap into to cast a magical spell related to said element. They are largely uninhabitable by most races and species from the Realms of Life but do have their own creatures known as Elementals that can live and survive within these infinite spaces.

* **Realm of Air:** a realm that was the most hospitable to beings from the Realms of Life because the substance of the plane was breathable and travel was fairly easy. The whole realm looked like the bluest sky on a summer day with only the occasional cloud or storm indicating the intrusion of some other element into the constant wind that was the Realm of Air. Pieces of solid matter floated in this realm and became home to other-planer creatures.
* **Realm of Water:** an ocean without a surface, there is a gentle pressure from all directions which becomes heavier the closer to the "center" to get the feeling within the plane is that of being several feet beneath the surface of the ocean on the Core realm. In regards of salinity it is less salty the closer to the "surface" you get becoming purely freshwater at the very top and the farther from the surface you get it becomes more and more briny. It is almost chillingly cold the deeper and deeper you get, in addition to the lack of air most cannot travel to this plane without some sort of magical protection.
* **Realm of Earth:** inhospitable to its very core, the Elemental realm of Earth was simply dense and solidly packed rock, mineral, and crystal occasionally broken up by pockets of other intruding elements. A non-native of the realm would find themselves trapped if they had no way to traverse through solid stone and would die from lack of oxygen, if that is something they require.
* **Realm of Fire:** filled with all manner of flame from the warm orange glow of a candle to the white-hot glow of heated steel, all burning without energy or fuel, radiating light and heat at there most intense levels. Most matter and beings would be quickly consumed by the heat and intensity of the flames if not protected but for pockets known as "cold" spots which are similar in heat to a hot desert on the Core realm. For those wishing to traverse outside of these cold spots, they would require some sort of protection against fire and heat, most of which is not strong enough to completely protect one for an extended amount of time.

### Sub-Elemental Realms

These realms are the culmination of two or more elemental realms boundaries mixing together to create a separate sub-realm of the parent realms. These realms are smaller in size are seen as less significate, not even mapped on the commonly used form of the Cosmic web.

* **Realm of Smoke:** this realm is a combination of the elements of fire and air which gave birth to this realm. Also called the Realm of Ash and the Realm of Smoke and Ash, this realm appears as a cloud of thick, dark grey smoke which became lighter and easier to breath within the closer you get to the Elemental Realm of Air and thicker and darker with a luminous backdrop the closer you get to the Elemental Realm of Fire. The "ground" was purely made of ash which kicked up in swirling whirlwinds from the Realm of Air. Ash and smoke particles makes it difficult to breath to the point of asphyxiation so travellers needed to be prepared.
* **Realm of Magma:** the culmination of the Elemental Realm of Fire and the Elemental Realm of Earth, this realm is a vast rocky plain broken up by mountains and volcanos. There were lakes and rivers of lava which are hotter than the surface of the sun with it being impossible for those of a non-elemental nature being unable to live within this realm. Pockets of liquifying steam would be an unwelcome surprise for any traveler.
* **Realm of Ooze:** between the realms of elemental Earth and elemental Water was the realm of Sub-Elemental Ooze, also known as the Never-ending Swamp Close to Earth the rocks and dirt took on a clammy dampness. As you moved toward Water, the density decreased to a quicksand-like state and then thinned out to muddy silt. Spells and devices that provided water breathing capability worked in this plane also. Pockets of Water would form an irregular bubble in the muck.
* **Realm of Ice:** the realm of sub-elemental Ice, also known as the Frost-lands, was found between the planes of elemental Water and elemental Air. Scattered icebergs marked the border with Water, eventually becoming solid ice broken by fissures and caverns until finally jutting into the plane of Air as ice cliffs. This plane shared the restrictively solid nature of the plane of Earth. Pockets of Water took the form of underground lakes while pockets of Air would form ice caverns of any shape or size.

### Energy Realms

Energy realms are realms that are entirely non-material. They are uninhabitable because of their lack of air, water, and other necessary elements to provide and sustain life, there is nothing that can live within these realms beside their Elementals.

* **Positive Energy Realm:** also known as the Realm of Life, every atom of this realm vibrated with intense energy and produced light across a wide spectrum. An unprotected traveler would quickly be blinded by the intensity of the light and in a matter of minutes, all their aliments, both gained and born with, are healed before the individual explodes and becomes part of the plane itself. All non-magical and non-living material was disposed of in an even quicker fashion.
* **Negative Energry Realm:** also known as the Realm of Death, everything in this realm sucked in all matter and energy creating a cold, pitch dark realm with structures made up of physical, solid blackness. Any unprotected visitor would quickly sicken, shrivel up, and die in minutes. No light sources could penetrate the darkness and non-magical material collapsed into dust and joined the black depths of the realm. Many undead drew their animating force from the Negative Energy plane which allowed them to drain life force from the living.

## Outerweb Realms

The Outerweb is slightly less inhabitable, there are still a few material or physical realms like those of Xaekla and Neraida, but there are also the realms of the Heavens and the Hells in which mortals can visit but often cannot stay in for long periods of time due to their nature. Many of these realms are known as Afterlife realms in which a person may attend and be bound to after their death in a spirit or monstrous form; examples of these Afterlife realms are the Heavens and Hells in which one may take on a different appearance as they did in life, however there are also creations of gods which may live in these realms but not be trapped within them and unable to leave.

### Afterlife Realms

Realms in which mortals may attend after death are called the Afterlife Realms. They are home to the spirits of the dead but also other beings that live within these realms but are not bound to it as the dead are.

* **Irara/Seven Hells:** also called 'the Hells', Irara is a multilayered realm that is the home of demons and fiends. Each layer was created to punish a different 'sin' and as such each layer is different. The seven layers are: Kibir, Meharo, Damaca, Dnimo, Iakus, Hnev, and Caajin. There are some that consider the Pools of Chaos to also be a layer of the hells.
* **Irota/Eight Hevens:** also called 'the Heavens', Irota is a multilayered realm that is home to various gods, angels, and souls of deceased mortals. It is the complete oppisote of the hells, with bright open air and buildings made of marble and glass. The eight layers of Irota are: Osyni, Imiota, Ilania, Imios, Leiotitia, Naiotita, Ikotito, and Gias.
* **Limbo:** the Realm of Lost Souls is an expansive flat black plain of immeasurable size broken up by craggy mountains and steep ravines in which beings from other realms make their home within and on. There is a single beacon at the center of the realm which can be seen from its farthest corner, this beacon is the Soul Spire which is what captures and holds the lost spirits within the realm.
* **Squalid Depths:** an afterlife realm exclusively use for the worst of the worst, powerfully evil gods who have been felled but their spirits left behind, demonic lords, and other beings of immense power which they have used for personal gain and evil. This realm has no sky with the "ceiling" and "floor" being a mere 3 feet apart at almost all times, forcing these spirits to be hunched in constant agony. The realm is filthy, used as a "dump" of sorts for the rejected creations of the gods as well as creations made by the evil beings trapped within the realm itself.

### Livable Realms

There are a few realms outside of the Innerweb which are possible for beings from realms within the Innerweb to be able to live and survive on. These realms have at least 3 things: air, water, and food. There are sapient and sentient species from these realms themself which inhabit it and have also attempted to live on one of the Innerweb realms in previous times, however, it is notably more difficult for natives of the Outerweb to attempt to survive within the Innerweb, though this reason is unknown.

* **Shadow Realm:** a realm in constant shades of black and grey, the shadow realm was once a layer of the Seven Hells before it was separated and replaced. It is a constant mountain range broken up by the smallest pockets of flat land at almost impossible to reach places, chunks of the earth float within the sky, rotating around the central lake of Suhulous, named so after the goddess Suphulous who was killed on the Shadow realm
* **Bright Heights:** believed to be a mirror realm reflecting that of the Shadow realm, Bright heights is an equally treacherously mountainous realm dotted with caves and small pockets of flat land. There are a variety of avian species that call this realm there home and the lesser god of nature, Haruna, has claimed this realm as her own and fiercely defends its beauty against invaders, though mortals are allowed free passage so long as they do not harm the nature of the realm.
* **Hapire:** A realm that is similar to Xaekla in many ways down to the number of days a year and found biomes, the difference is the color of hapire is the complete oppisote of Xaekla, the grass is red rather than green, the sky ranges from yellow to dark red, and trees bark is black rather than brown. It is said to be the rejected first version of Xaekla, though the inhabitants loathe this theory.
* **Uncharted Sands:** a rocky, mountainous realm rife with sand and orbiting moons/planets, the sky is stuck in perpetual night though the sun glows brightly on the horizon at all times. One of the planets, deemed Ebber's eye, is believed to the be the eye of the fallen Lich king Ebber Wesk who was banished to Uncharted Sands and swiftly killed by the local lording deity.

## Farweb Realms

The realms of the Farweb are realms create through the possible alignments of a person. Good or evil, lawful or chaotic, and neutral; these realms reflect the nature of these people in how it takes its shape and appearance. These realms are often inhabited by gods of the same alignment, as well as various mythical creatures or "copies" of creatures found on other realms such as how Mt. Luminous has mountainous goats found on Xaekla.

### Mount Luminous

The home of Lawful Good and Lawful Neutral deities and celestial creatures, Mt. Luminous is a single floating peak about a pad of fluffy clouds. The mountain itself is about 40,000 ft tall made purely of pale white stone and marble with cuts of silver, mithril, and gold laced throughout. The peak of the mountain is home to the purest of heart who guard the home of the Lawful Good deities that live at the top, a traveler to this realm must prove their intentions are pure and just if they wish to travel higher up the mountain, those who cannot prove their lawfulness are cast out of the realm for a number of years before they may return.

### Alavandra

Named after the first Neutral Good deity Alavandra of Swuwal, this realm is home to those who ride the line of neutrality and goodness. It is a vast field of flowing grass and flowers with a rigid mountain range along the east side, the sky is perpetually stuck at sunset with a constant gentle breeze that smells of honey and earth being the only disturbance. Their is a village of angels at the realms center, a village called Alva Stop, which welcomes all travelers. The realm is open to all who do not wish it harm.

### Shimmering Wilds

Sprawling wildlands bursting with life and natural resources, it is a plane where you must first prove your ability to hunt and forage before you may be allowed in, though once the door has been opened, it never closes.

* The Abyss
* Shadow Peaks
* Pools of Chaos
* Xaeklayus Replicayus
* Pandemonium

## Moving Realms

The Moving realms are realms which are not stationary as the other realms are believed to be but rather revolve around the edge of the Farweb and Outerweb. There are only two known realms of this nature named respectively Astral Law and Astral Chaos.

## Transitive Realms

There are three transitive realms, the Ethereal Realm, the Astral Pathway, and the Elemental Chaos. The Ethereal plane is what all the realms reside within, it is a cold and desolate realm in which no species can survive outside of the very few that were created to assist the gods, it is a mix of purples and pinks which pop against the dark void-eques backdrop. The Astral Pathway is the interconnecting web that allows passage between the various realms, but it also contains realms of its own, realms that exist within their own time and space in the Astral Pathway. Elemental Chaos is a transitive realm which creates the boundary between the Innerweb and Outerweb, it is a vast region where all the elements and sub-elements blend and mull together into true chaos, hence the name.

## Passages Between Realms

There are physical passages between realms which are what make the shape of the web. These passages can take many forms and will often reflect the realm that they are nearest to, morphing and changing even as you pass through it. The most well known passage is Through Heaven and Earth, a passage that spans from the top of the Heavens; Gias; to the depths of Hell; Caajin, it is a path that many take by accident.

* **Stone Moor Path:** the inner-most and circular pathway which crosses through Neraida, the Elemental Realm of Earth, Kyris, and the Elemental Realm of Air.
* **Ethereal Path:** between the Innerweb and Outerweb, the Ethereal path is connected to various small, unmapped realms.
* **Slick Pass:** the Astral Pathway which crosses through Astral Law and Astral Chaos.
* Through Heaven and Earth: the straight pathway which begins at the top of the Eight Heavens in the layer of Gias, traveling through Kweg, the Elemental Realm of Air, Xaekla, the Elemental Realm of Earth, Swuwal, and the Seven Hells ending at the layer of Caajin.
* **The Swirl:** a diagonal pathway which begins at the Shadow Realm and travels through Madayus, Xaekla, the Everpools, and ends in the realm of Uncharted Sands.
* **Squalor Path:** another diagonal pathway beginning at the Squalid depths; for which it is named after; traveling through Ki'mander, Xaekla, Sokyal, and ending in the realm of Bright Heights.
* **Lost and Found Path:** cutting through the center, this path travels through Limbo, the Elemental Realm of Water, Kyris, Xaekla, Neraida, the Elemental Realm of Fire, and ending in the realm of Hapire.

## Beyond

There is known to be just one realm beyond that of all others, beyond what can be seen from within the Ethereal sea, this is simply called the beyond. This far from the Core realm the laws of physics and mortal understanding are gravely flipped upon their head as the one known realm within this beyond is the Far realm, called as such because of its distance from the Core realm. The Far realm has the ability to morph a person into a beast, a monster, uncapable of thoughts beyond their next kill and meal; it is a twisted place of darkness and broken spirits in which most don't even know of its existence beyond the educated scholar.