Realms

Our home realm, where we live on planet earth, is not the only plane of existence. While Trefoil Academy has had interactions and accidents involving some of these realms in the past, the Academy now sits upon an entire network of portals leading to numerous realms, all of which have been hinted at in the **Heru Cipher**.

## Gaia (Home)

Gaia, also called Earth, Home, Midgard, and many other names across many different cultures, is our home realm. This is the planet and universe that most of us have been born and raised in, and is the one in which Trefoil Academy operates. It is primarily inhabited by humans, some of whom are mages (including all students and staff!).

**Gaia Exploration level**: detailed. We have world maps, though these do not include deep space or the abyss of the ocean. Some places are also hidden by magic, and maps change as political boundaries shift, cities grow, and areas are terraformed by magic.

**Notable Species**: mainly humans, but also Dryads, Dragons, Catfolk, Kitsune, Sphinx, Merfolk, and more.

**Page Link:** **Gaia**

## Niflheim (Shadow)

The realm of primordial ice, this is also commonly called the Shadow Realm. Very few people know much at all about it, but Trefoil has had personal experience with it after a mishap created an unstable rift that, when buried under a metaphorical carpet, followed the Academy back in time and poured shadow creatures out into our world.

**Shadow Realm Exploration level:** limited, but with some detailed maps brought back by student teams who delved into the realm to a) search for a missing headmaster, and b) search for staff members who were shoved into the realm while under a Confusion spell by Westgaards.

**Survival**: light sources and heat are necessary for survival. In some areas, magical frost protection is required or you will freeze solid!

**Notable Species:** Shadow/Rift monsters (varied), Wraiths, Ice Giants, "The Black Wave", Shadow Panther, Ice worms, Ice Elementals

Page Link: **Niflheim**

## Muspelheim, aka Ignis (Fire)

The realm of primordial fire, this fiery plane is also commonly called the Fire Realm or Ignis.

**Survival**: fire protection is necessary or you will be burnt to cinders!

**Notable Species:** Solarials, Fire Giants, Salamanders

**Page link:** **Muspelheim**

## Aquis (Water)

The unending sea, this is the realm of primordial water. It is sometimes called mundanely the Water Realm.

**Survival:** water-breathing charms are required or you will drown!

**Notable Species:** Undines, Kelpie, Sharkfolk, Asrai

**Page link: Aquis**

## Aeris (Air)

The endless skies, this is the plane of Air. There is no ground or gravity, but there are storms!

**Survival:** surprisingly easy, since there is no gravity and most of the air is breathable. Propulsion to fly or move may be needed, or you will drift on the currents of wind.

**Notable Species:** Sylphs, Avians

**Page link: Aeris**

## Svartalfheim, aka Terris (Rock)

The realm of elemental Earth, also called Terris, Stone Realm, and the Underdark. These are the endless caves.

**Survival:** light sources and rope are suggested. The passages are easy to get lost in, so make maps!

**Notable Species:** Gnomes, Svartalfr/Dwarfs, Gemfolk, Kobolds

**Page link: Terris**

## Alfheim (Otherworld, Fae)

This realm of faeries is wild and chaotic, and has been mentioned in many different mythos. Also called the Otherworld, Faerie, Tir Na Nog.

**Survival:** nothing is what it seems, be ready for anything

**Notable Species:** Seelie and Unseelie courts, all manner of fae creatures

**Page link: Alfheim**

## Helheim (Dead)

We know little about this realm except that is was named for an ancient goddess of the dead.

**Survival: unknown**

**Notable Species:** undead

**Page link: Helheim**

## Astral Dimension

Not a physical place. This is the space between realms, the place you are if you are nowhere else. It is called many things, including the Dreamworld, Weave, Spirit World, the Nothing, the Void, and Realm of Magic, though it is best not to think of it as an actual realm. Some theorize that it, itself, is the World Tree of Norse Mythology.

**Survival:** complicated. Entering it with your physical body is dangerous as it will try to eject you, if not rip you apart with raw magic or drive you to insanity. You can enter it with your dreamself, your Astral form, and then safely explore it, but beware of other creatures doing the same thing!

**Notable Species:** Lunarials (astrally projected), spirit guardians, and supposedly a giant squirrel named Ratatoskr

**Page link: Astral**

## Ethereal Plane

A subplane that **overlies our own realm**, sometimes called the Dusk or the Veil, or the Spirit Plane. It is the plane of ghosts and incorporeal happenings. Things in the ethereal can usually see and hear what is happening on the Material plane (the real world), but cannot physically interact with them. Things in the Material plane (real world) can sometimes see creatures in the Ethereal Plane as translucent images, but not always, as is the case with invisible hauntings.

***Magic can impact both planes simultaneously***. For example, a magic fireball cast at a ghost who is hovering in a table will burn both the table and the ghost, but throwing a non-magical rock at the ghost will have the rock just bounce off the table without bothering the ghost.

**Survival:** just a matter of escaping it in time to find something to eat or drink! While you can see the normal world, you cannot interact with non-magical things. Most wards and magical barriers will prevent you from entering past them, so it isn't the best for espionage, and leaves you prone to attack from ethereal beasties!

**Notable Species:** Ghosts