Welcome to the Codex! Every Friday, we will focus on one topic from one of the upcoming books, or one of the books that have been published. The Codex will review what is commonly known about that topic in the world, even if just at a scholarly level. There will still be mysteries, but if you are interested in learning more about something you read in the book or in another blog post, the Codex is the way to go.
In keeping with this week's focus on cosmology, today we will be exploring the cosmology of the Twin Worlds setting. In order to to do so, we will consider what scholars of the Twin Worlds know about it.
The short answer to this question is: very little, for a long time. As North Star implies, scholars of the early Fifth Age aren't very familiar with the shape of the cosmology of their world, other than a handful of Planes - primarily the ones explored by the wyldervay during the War of Saints. They know of these Planes from the tales and legends of the wyldervay (although their knowledge may be imperfect) but it is only in the Fifth Age that sorcerers begin studying the cosmology again.
The reason for this goes back to the Ledhrorn, and their need to erase history (alongside any knowledge deemed dangerous or problematic) in an effort to create a complacent, stagnant population. The Ledhrorn did not wish to keep the cosmological knowledge that existed during the Third Age, because they saw this as a danger to their reign. Creatures in other Planes could reveal the Ledhrorn didn't, in fact, create everything. Worse, they might refer to the Trienorn, or to the Lady of Souls, opening an entirely new can of worms. Furthermore, remnants of the Trienorn remained in the Planes. Such as their redoubt, Tarmun, somewhere the Ledhrorn themselves didn't know; or wherever Synnus Starspeaker went when he broke off from the Trienorn prior to their ascension. The slumbering bodies of the Trienorn themselves lay in the plane of dreams, and could conceivably be discovered.
So the Ledhrorn launched a millennia-long attack on this knowledge, succeeding in virtually eradicating it. It was only after the War of Saints and its cosmological revelations that these studies started again.
Over the course of a few centuries, scholars have discovered many things, although they are still just scratching the surface. Roughly, however, they have categorized other realms of existence into four broad categories:
Wandering Planes. These are alien realms - some more so than others - which orbit in a predictable pattern, waxing and waning. While many are infinite, from the outside they still have a finite location in space, and therefore cannot always be reached. Wandering Planes are associated with the Great Stars, which are believed to be projections of the Wandering Planes from beyond the veil of the material plane, like looking at the sun through smoked glass. Examples are the worlds visited by the wyldervay, such as Enu, Sisteri, or Londìr.
Dimensions. These are aspects of reality, and as such, they overlay (and underlay) all of the cosmos. You may not always be able to reach a Wandering Plane, but you can enter and access a Dimension no matter where you are. Dimensions, however, are typically more alien and hostile to non-native lifeforms (if any) than the Wandering Planes. Examples are the Deathgate (the antechamber of the afterlife) and Ziruar (the Dimension of Time).
Netherwheres. This is a catch-all terms for worlds that don't fit into either of the two major categories. They include artificial or naturally occurring pocket dimensions, typically not orbiting anything, and sometimes only accessible in a specific location of the material plane.
Otherworlds. These are the most enigmatic of all realms, because they seem to exist outside normal cosmology, accessible not through planar travel, but only through so-called Crossroads in the material realm. Otherworlds represent "what-if" scenarios of varying magnitude.
Everything is contained within Ayazin, the Void Between, which is extremely difficult to access (and in fact, is only known through legends and ancient fragments of knowledge). Beyond Ayazin is the Outside, which is fundamentally unknown other than being believed to be split into two realms. A terrestrial-like realm from whence Outsiders such as the Trienorn and the wyldervay came; and an illogical realm of nightmare and insanity simply called the Vastness, thankfully virtually impossible to access. The Vastness is what the Worm That Walks, Koradrane Quinom, worships.
While scholars know very little about the Planes and Dimensions in this grand cosmology, they know there are many. No less than 50 Great Stars are known, and there could be more which simply have been so remote for centuries, preventing them from being identified. At least three or four Dimensions are known as well, but it is suspected there could be more. One such Dimension is Sphirastre, the Maelstrom of Magic, the supposed source of all sorcery in the Twin Worlds.
Of the books written thus far, the cosmology is touched upon in a few of them, and will be more prominent in other books to come. This is a helpful primer, but look for more content as we continued to explore the Codex. And as always, feel free to reach out with questions!
Thank you, and I look forward to our next Codex entry.
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