Of Coterminous & Remote

Of Coterminous & Remote is an arcane tome recovered from the camp of the Green Quill Troupe in the Greater Greensong, assumedly formerly in the possession of the wizard Carvell.

## Description

Detailing the relationship between the Material Plane and the wider Planes of Existence that sometimes come to interact with the continent of Ahlus, Of Coterminous & Remote is considered by many to be standard reading for many individuals seeking to deepen their understanding of such matters from those of an acolyte into that of a capable researcher.

## Research

### Completed by Roderick Reman and Arnica

Many folks have surely found themselves gazing upwards in the great dark swathes of the Canvas of Night, backs pressed against rooftop or balcony, or perhaps a hilltop garden or quiet field. Most will have surely attempted to trace the constellations formed by the presence of the Celestial Citadels of the Principal Sixteen, shaping candles, eyes and quills from the scintillating points. There are, conversely, but a few that have wondered at which lies around and beyond these divine structures, and fewer still that have had the capabilities to chase after these ponderings and musings.

Further details about these locations beyond could fill entire tomes for each in turn, so this text will instead serve as a passing summary of each in turn, and their particular - and highly variable - arrangement relative to each other.

### The Material and the Echoes (The Prime)

The Material Plane, that upon which the Principal Races are born, live and die sits at the centre of this sprawling expanse of existence, occupying the exact same space as two further planes. It is widely accepted that Srar created the Feywild, mimicking the Material Plane that it echoed, but filled with an elevated sense of vibrancy where everything, from leaf to laughter is countlessly exaggerated. So great was the scale and vividness poured into the Feywild that entities of great power sprung to being, spawned by leaf and light, melody and meadow. The other echo, the Shadowfell, is more disputed in origin. Sometimes attributed to that of the Thunderqueen Iotl, other theories state that for every additional flurry of energy and colour Srar delivered, ever more was drained from this third Plane, eventually rendering it into a state of suppression and mutedness. In death, all creatures of the Material Plane pass through the Shadowfell, jettisoning the thoughts, memories and worries of their passing life, guided by the Daughter of the Veil to the Shrouded Valley, beyond which the Lantern Lord awaits with the Beacon of Souls to pass eternal judgement. Relatively speaking, travel to these echoes is relatively easy, given that they ultimately occupy the same space as the Material Plane - and thus ultimately the process of travel is simply placing one foot in front of the other in the right manner.

### The Inner Planes (The Elemental Sphere)

Enveloping the Material and the Echoes are the Inner Planes, sometimes colloquially - amongst academic circles, at least - referred to as the Elemental Sphere. So named for its configuration, the Elemental Sphere is a vast marble-like expanse ever changing in its patterning, like droplets of coloured ink shimmering along the outer surface of a vast bubble. The pure elemental planes, that of Air, Earth, Fire and Water ripple over the surface of the elemental chaos, sparking the paraelemental planes into existence where they cross. Ever in flux, the Inner Planes are hugely unpredictable, though each features a number of structures that may act as 'seeds' from which rippling extensions of the particular plane spread across the surface of this stellar sphere. Particular disruption occurs when one or more of the Outer Planes collide with the Elemental Sphere as they travel along their elliptical orbits around the Prime.

 Ice/Snow
 Magma
 Mud/Ooze
 Smoke/Ash
 Steam

### The Outer Planes (The Wandering Worlds)

Beyond the Inner Planes sixteen planes are said to reside, carried upon widely varying routes across the folds of the Canvas of Night that bring each closer and further away, hence scholars' usual depiction the Planes as round celestial bodies upon elliptical orbits around the Prime and the Elemental Sphere. Of these, seven are considered the upper planes, seven the lower, with two remaining others outside of these definitions. The names are more than just poetic grouping, the routes of the Upper Planes, infused with Positive Energies bring the lands contained within close to the skies above the Material Plane, whereas those of the Lower Planes tainted by Negative Energies are drawn close to the soil and stone far below - feeding further credence to ideas that the depths of the Underdark can sometimes bleed over in the Abyss, or one of the other Lower Planes.

As the Outer Planes continue upon their orbits, the intensity of their influence waxes and wanes, referred more properly as being of coterminous or remote state, and with the former manifestation zones may be felt, or communication, travel or other forms of interaction with its residents more easily achieved. Even when coterminous, doing so requires high levels of arcane or divine power, but consideration of the state of a plane may be of key importance for certain rituals, or petitioning particular extraplanar entities. Predicting this is however a near impossible task, given that the Planes do not orbit with a consistent speed, direction or trajectory. Regardless, any form of transition between the Outer Planes, Elemental Sphere and the Material and its Echoes requires a tether of sorts, which acts as an anchor binding the pair of locations together, akin to a guide rope for a diver passing through a submerged passage or the like. These tethers could in theory be anything, an object, location, even a living being, provided they were steadfast and capable enough to sustain the strain of such a role. Planar tuning forks work through an alternative route, instead seeking to mimic the natural resonance and frequency of each of the Planes, a purpose that can sometimes be achieved through an object from the Plane of Existence in question in certain instances.

There is a risk that when an Outer Plane transitions into a coterminous state that it may collide with the Elemental Sphere, which is how one of the uncategorised Outer Planes, that of the Ever-Changing Chaos of Limbo came to be, fragmenting away from the Elemental Sphere following a vast series of stellar collisions. The Plane of Limbo is thought to frequently collide with that of the Elemental Sphere, while the other uncategorised Outer Plane - the Clockwork Nirvana of Mechanus mirrors its motion, orderly armies of modrons working to repair the cracks spreading in its wake.

### The Transitive Planes and the Ill-Defined (The Between and Beyond)

Between each layer, voids of faintly perceivable matter reside, initially theorised to be left by the creation of the Planes themselves, or perhaps the debris and aftermath of their collisions and ever-shifting locales. Between the Material and its Echoes and the Inner Planes lies the Ethereal Plane/Sea filled with fog and mist, its shores touching upon both sides of its boundaries - and thus a route sometimes used to transition between the two.

Conversely, the actual empty space of the Canvas of Night is made up of the Astral Plane/Sea, devoid of light from afar, though said to shimmer like silver gossamer when engulfed within it. While a creature's experience of the passage of time may be variable on the various Planes of Existence, in the Astral Sea it has no command at all, a vast expanse sparsely inhabited. Clouds of scintillating dust sometimes collects into vast nebulas in the Astral Sea, these wells of creation are thought to be pockets of Dal Quor, an ill-defined Plane of psychic and illusionary energies that many Races inadvertently connect themselves to while they dream or trance. Further beyond this still lies uncharted Realms far beyond, where even the seemingly non-existent order of the Outer Planes ceases to be.