Preface: Myd Tepatep, im Neirin - The Universe, a Seed


We live in a world of stunning complexity. There are aspects of our
existence which, on the whole, have been taken completely for granted by
the majority of individuals for their entire lives, with little more
than idle speculation from those few who would seek a broader
understanding of the world in which they live. The true nature of our
existence, whether defined as individuals apart from the fabric of the
rest of the world or as intertwining parts of a larger, unified whole,
has eluded philosophers and scientists for ages beyond any of our
memory.

Many of the hurdles faced by said individuals can be seen as a part of
our everyday lives. The degree of entropy which exists even at the
highest levels of our most advanced societies are anathema to the
intensive study required for most pursuits of scientific inquiry. In
response to this, many individuals, the common and the "enlightened"
alike, find comfort more in the broad-armed embrace of religion than in
the oft-perceived cold, mechanical formalities of the sciences.

Yet the relatively acute frame of the majority of our religions,
although each is without doubt validated to some degree or another by
the very presence of the Divinity to which each religion subscribes,
fails in many ways to accurately describe the vast majority of our
world's existence. They attempt, through the teachings and philosophies
of the Celestial Entity which embodies the core of their belief system,
to ascribe to various parts of our world explanations and rationale for
its necessity of existence and to some degree a rudimentary examination
of the underlying principles of its manifestation.

The various parts of our world which each religion attempts valiantly to
explain are far too often left separated, as though their existences are
unique and unaffected by each other. As we see in the politics of our
world, however, this is never the case. Economic policies dictate the
developmental status of city militias, and military might oft times
dictates the political prowess with which a city is regarded, and said
prowess further influences the ability of the city leaders to garner
support from the masses, thereby increasing the pool upon which the
city's economic stature is based. This is just one familiar example of
the underlying cyclic nature of our world that, unnoticed by us all,
permeates the very fabric of space and time itself.

Though there exists many things in our world that to a common man
unfamiliar with the intricacies of the powers of magic and the Divine
Presences would easily call miracles, they can each and all be
understood within a single underlying framework. This framework, this
system, encompasses each of the spheres of the Celestial Entities which
our variegated religions worship, and each can be understood as but a
sub-system of the universal whole of which we are all, though not always
equally, a part of.

Governed by an unyielding yet all-allowing formality, even the very
essence which the fabric of our planes is constructed can be interpreted
as the manifestation of the system's unchanging form. Within it, all
things can, and will, be realized, and perhaps most surprisingly,
provides for our philosophers an absolute notion of the beginning and
end of objective time. And most mysteriously, conjures into existence
the notion of space-outside-space, and the impending transformation of
our world into something entirely unrecognizable and imperceivable.


Chapter 1: Im Haijan je Uira - A Ladder of Air


Picture a monk in meditation among the hills of the Dakhota. He is
dressed in fine silks, his head shaved of all but a thick cord, held in
place by a strand of fern. His calm demeanor hides the turmoil
threatening to overcome his steady mind. He is human. His is an
existence both strained by the pursuit of enlightenment and free from
the bonds of servitude. Yet still, turmoil rests within him. For he is
human. He is imperfect, and is perfectly aware of this fact. But the
turmoil is not what is important in this picture. Rather, it is the
monk's awareness, or more specifically, his self-awareness.

Consider the notion of self-awareness. We take it for granted every day
that we know we exist. We recognize our individuality among the hundreds
of others with whom we share so much with every day. To attempt to prove
our existence as false would be foolish, for one needs simply reach out
and stroke the cheek of he would argue otherwise to prove him wrong. The
entire notion is so engrained within our culture, and most likely within
our very souls, that to question it seems illogical, even insane. Yet
attempt to define what this existence is that we are so sure of, and few
if any will know even where to begin.

As our own existence seems so concrete yet so mysterious, so too is the
nature of the world which surrounds us. We see small bees and
hummingbirds flying swiftly through the sky, their complex bodies able
to propel them in flight, a feat as yet unachieved by the brightest
minds of our age without the use of magic. We see the dragon
Yudhishthira, her massive form able to spew forth the fires of rage
within her, yet remain unscathed by the heat. And we see the sirens of
the deep, their voices ringing clear, the clarity unfettered by the
water that surrounds them. These seeming miracles of nature are to us so
wondrous, that we fail to take note of the simplest things which we have
yet no explanation for. Take the air through which hummingbirds fly. We
cannot see it, but we know of its presence from its movement in the
winds, and we know of its importance from the constant exercise of
breathing. Without it, our world would be undeniably different, and
simply to deny its existence because it cannot be seen would be as
certain a folly as denying one's own existence. Yet because it is so
ever-present, few take time to consider it, or even to seek an
understanding of the implications it has on our world.

This is our Physical Reality. We are more familiar with it than any
other aspect of the universe, yet it is in many ways so artificially
simple that we ignore its presence as but a part of a greater whole and
assume that it is, indeed, Everything. Even after great thought on the
subject, many laymen would quickly reach the conclusion that the world
they can see, hear, taste, touch, and smell is surely the only world
that could exist. Thankfully, many of our more upstanding citizens are
not so ignorant.

Even the most poorly trained Priest is familiar with magic. Magic is an
undeniable force in our world, able to seemingly circumvent many of the
physical laws and properties of nature that seem undeniable in the face
of scrutiny based purely on natural science. Of course, this is obvious,
given that the system itself is being probed purely by elements from
within it. However, while the use of magic is prevalent among the more
privileged members of society in some form or another, be it the pure
Elemental manipulation of the Magi or the darker delights of Demonic
manipulation practiced by the Indorani, few themselves claim to
understand the mechanism by which their techniques take effect. Again,
the artificial simplicity of the system breeds ignorance of its
underlying nature.

This is the Ethereal Reality. Imagine, if you will, a tapestry, woven
purely of black and white strands. The tapestry, however, is woven not
into some intricate design, but rather a blank sheet of gray, the
culmination of the black and white lain against each other. The white
strands in this analogy represents our Physical Reality, and the black,
the Ethereal Reality. Though it is only an approximation, this analogy
helps to visualize the manner in which the two Realities co-exist. The
Physical and Ethereal are so interwoven that their interplay is a near
constant force in the lives of those familiar with the techniques for
the manipulation of the Ethereal strands, as it were. Generally, the
Ethereal and the Physical are the only realms upon which we as mortals
cause a significant impact. But as our esteemed Religions teach us,
there is more to our world than earth and magic.

Shrines to the various Divinities of the realm are a common sight. Be
they to the Hunter, Lord Haern, or to Chakrasul, the Lady of Forbidden
Delights, shrines serve similar purposes that are familiar in theory if
not function to the populous. Ignoring for the moment their role as
weapons, shrines can be effectively described as conduits to the Divine
which they seek to empower. Of course, it is not the shrine that brings
power to a Divinity, it is the various offerings made unto the Divine.
The shrine, again, serves as but a conduit. But by definition, conduits
must transmit something, in this case, essence (the nature of which is
itself a topic of debate), from one place to another. The shrine, then,
is not a conduit in and of itself, but merely a manifestation of one end
of a conduit, the other side of which must surely lead to the Divine
themselves.

These are the Planary Realities. The Divine with which we are familiar,
save the Creator, Lord Varian, are themselves mere projections into our
familiar Physical Reality of their true forms which themselves are based
in the Planary. Planary Realities are unique in that they seem to
coexist as both a single Plane and a multitude of "Island" Planes.
Though they are specific in their nature and ultimately independent of
each other, they each and all exist parallel to the intertwined Physical
and Ethereal Realities with which we are familiar. Planary Realities
serve a multitude of purposes, most notably as the ultimate resting
places of the true forms of the Divine we are so familiar with. It is
difficult to speculate how such Divine Realities may depend upon the
Divine for which they exist, and the opposite is as difficult. Other
examples of Planary Realities include the Shadow Plane, whose
inhabitants the realm is all too familiar with, and the Chaos Plane.
Because of the familiar passage of the Indorani and the Cabalists into
the Chaos Plane, it is obvious that some travel between the Physical and
Ethereal Realities and the Planar Realities must be possible, but the
mechanism for such is as mysterious to most as the Planes themselves.

Watch the sun or the moon traverse the sky. These celestial objects seem
both constant and ever-changing. Their change, however, has been taken
advantage of by every culture known to the world, via the measurement of
Time. Time, if considered outside the realm of the Physical Reality, is
an intriguing concept. It is an ever-present Deity, yet unprobable and
in many ways insurmountable. But like the air we breath, we know that it
exists, and we know of its importance to the world around us. Some
magics, such as the Aeon Tarot of the Indorani, have even found ways in
which to manipulate its passage over specific regions of space. Because
of this, one can conclude that Time cannot be either an abstract concept
or an invisible Deity, but must have its own unique existence in our
world.

This is the Temporal Reality. Continuing with the tapestry analogy, one
can picture the Temporal Reality as existing as a near-infinite number
of threads, woven through all points along the Physical/Ethereal Reality
tapestry, as well as through all points within the Planary Realities.
Because these temporal threads run through the Ethereal and Physical
Realities, sufficient manipulation of the fabric of either the Ethereal
or the Physical can be enough to stretch or compress the threads woven
through that specific area of the lower Realities. This in effect allows
for the type of "magic" utilized in the Aeon Tarot. Of course, the magic
does not directly affect the Temporal Reality, as it is of the Ethereal,
a lower Reality than the Temporal, but instead sufficiently manipulates
the Ethereal to stretch the temporal threads in the Physical area
surrounding the victim, thus causing time to appear to pass at a slower
rate. Temporal threads are also responsible for the ability to travel to
and from the Planar Realities, but this will be examined in detail later
on.

Earlier it was noted that the Planary Realities contained the true forms
of all Divine save Lord Varian. It is to be expected that as a Deity of
His Stature, the nature of His Existence would be somehow separate and
absolute in nature. Intuition in this case is correct, as the realm
occupied by Lord Varian not only transcends all lower Realities, it
interpolates them as well.

The Sublime Reality is occupied solely by the Creator, Varian. It
surrounds and encompasses the Physical, Ethereal, Planary, and Temporal
Reality in such a way as to permeate every aspect of their structure.
While mortals can occupy only a single Reality at any given time,
magical constructs two Realities, the Divine and Extra-Planar creatures
three, the Creator Varian manages to occupy the five invariant Realities
simultaneous. The breadth of this Reality is near Infinite in nature,
and may theoretically not only contain the Creator, but, it is
speculated, may be the Creator Himself in His base realization.

Standard religious doctrine would necessarily limit the scope of science
to this Sublime Reality, its apparent Infinitude a limiting factor on
how far beyond our Physical Reality the realm of possibility even
extends. However, given the nature of the Grand Artifice and the actions
taken by the Creator and the god Severn during the period in which the
Grand Artifice was enacted, a final system has arisen that is singularly
unique among all other Realities, and manages to place a limit on the
false infinity which has been ascribed to our Creator and the world we
know.

The Variant Reality differs from all other Realities in that its
existence is not absolute. Governed by the sum of fluctuations between
all other Realities, it is nevertheless -finite-. Its finite nature
forces the conclusion that, as it is a sum of all other Realities, no
invariant Reality could claim true Infinity either. Its existence then
is a limiting factor on the world we are able to conceive. The Variant
Reality, however, is hierarchically superior to the Sublime. The
consequence of this is that, although its existing is both finite and
non-absolute, it nonetheless is able to manifest not only within the
various lower Realities, it can also exist outside of the Sublime
Reality, limiting even the Creator from the information contained within
the Variant Reality system.

The exotic nature of the Variant Reality begs further analysis, but it
is as important to understand the structural differences between each of
the invariant Realities as well. The miracles of our world would fill
volumes, yet they are all based on many of the same principles and
underlying structures of even the most common sights in our realm. Each
level of Reality has its own unique aspects, and each builds upon the
last in both complexity and beauty.


Chapter 2: Warana Jata di Jerne Joka - Sky Above and Earth Below


The Physical Reality we inhabit is perhaps the best charted of all
Realities, as can be expected due to the relative ease with which we can
access information concerning it. Our everyday experiences are governed
by the laws of the Physical Reality, and these laws are immutable save
when influenced by higher Realities.

While we can easily observe and appreciate the full range of physical
phenomenon in the lowest Reality, it is another matter entirely to
actively describe these phenomenon in terms of their constituent parts
and causes. As an example, try to explain in familiar terms why a plant
such as bloodroot grows, while a stone does not. The facts themselves
are obvious, but beyond the mere fact the waters become quickly muddied.
Fortunately, the entire range of complex activities within the Physical
Reality can be explained through the concepts of the Elements and Polar
Energy.

Our Physical Reality is comprised of five distinct Elements. These
elements, most familiar to those trained in the arts of Elementalism and
Spirituality, form the material basis of the world we see, smell, hear,
touch, and taste. The five Elements are: Earth, Wind, Water, Fire, and
Spirit. Most are generally familiar with manifestations of the first
four, and how their interplay brings about the variety of complex
materials we find, but the fifth Element, Spirit, is somewhat less
known.

Elements exist as minute particles, called modicums. Vast numbers of
modicums in varying ratios with each other comprise the materials of our
world. For instance, the rock previously discussed is comprised almost
entirely of Earth modicums, with some small number of Water modicums as
well. The bloodroot plant, on the other hand, is comprised of Earth,
Water, and Spirit modicum. The Spirit modicum is the answer to the
previously posed question. It is the Element of Spirit which provides
the so-called "spark of life" that allows for growth, reproduction, and,
in some cases, consciousness.

Alongside the material modicums, the Physical Reality is also
constituted by ten separate particles of energy, called corpuscles. Each
corpuscle corresponds to an Element, thus there are two Earth
corpuscles, two Wind corpuscles, etc. These two corpuscles differ in
their polarity, that is, in the force aspect to which they are ascribed.
This is either Positive or Negative. The concept is extremely simple,
for unlike quasi-polar concepts such as "Good" and "Evil", polar energy
is absolute. The corpuscles are either Positive, or Negative. There is
no gray area for misinterpretation.

The interplay of corpuscles and modicums is a subject of intense
continuing study, but much information has already been gleaned. For
instance, Positive Fire corpuscles can interact with Water modicums to
form steam, while Negative Fire corpuscles interact with Water modicum
to create ice. Corpuscles can also act as bonding agents between unlike
modicums, such as the presence of Positive Water corpuscles bonding with
Negative Earth corpuscles, and each corpuscle bonding to a corresponding
modicum, within the stem of a plant, giving the stem its firm structure.
Although many such interactions have been catalogued, a near infinite
amount exists, and it will take scientists years to fully understand how
these corpuscles and modicums allow the full range of phenomenon in our
Physical Reality.


Chapter 3: Myd Juit je Juit'a - The Art of Arts


Magic has existed in many forms throughout the ages, some undoubtedly
lost behind the veil of the Grand Artifice, others surviving in the vast
range of skills and abilities taught in guilds across the continent. Yet
the knowledge of how this magic was actually manifesting itself in our
familiar Physical Reality has never been common. Even today, much of the
work done by the finest scholars in the field of magic has been refuted
in some form or another, and few can come to a consensus on exactly how
the Ethereal Reality is brought to affect the Physical Reality we
inhabit.

Ultimately, though, the complexity seems to become once more simple, as
is always desired, if some of the same properties are ascribed to the
Ethereal as to the Physical. In fact, this should not seem far fetched
by any means, considering the interwoven nature of the two Realities.

Thus, the Ethereal Reality is, much like the Physical, comprised of
Elements. These Elements are not, in fact, markedly different from those
of the Physical Reality. Called Versic Elements, there are as many of
them, five, as there are Base Elements in the Physical Reality. However,
Versic Elements do not generally interact with the Base Elements we are
more familiar with. This issue is overcome, as should be expected, by an
unexpected property of the corpuscles earlier examined. When in specific
geometrical arrangements, corpuscles are able to pass uninhibited
between the Ethereal and Physical Realities.

The consequence of this passage is that, where Versic Elements had
hitherto been unable to affect the Physical Reality in any way, their
affects can be felt via the bonding of corpuscles to like Versic and
Base elements. As an example, a Magi is able to summon a Water Weird
elemental via the bonding of Positive Water corpuscles and Negative
Spirit corpuscles, with the Positive Water corpuscles bonding to their
like Versic Water modicum in the Ethereal Reality and the Negative
Spirit corpuscles bonding with their like Spirit corpuscles in the
Physical Reality.

Through the inter-Reality exchange of Positive and Negative corpuscles,
modicums of Versic and Base Elementals can co-exist between the
Realities. This effectively creates an identical effect in the Ethereal
realm of any magic that takes is made manifest within the Physical. This
unexpected consequence belies the extremely dangerous atmosphere that is
sure to exist within the Ethereal Reality.


Chapter 4: Je Aegatek'a di Chita'a - Of Gods and Grasshoppers


The Planary Realities are, as previously written, akin to islands.
Within each, the laws governing the behavior of the entire Reality can
be entirely different, and to describe even one among the many would do
injustice to all of the others. It will suffice to say, of Planary
Realities, that they have the possibility of being distinctly different
from any sense of logical structure that we have the capacity to
imagine.

One should remember, however, that this is still but a possibility. As
can be seen in the case of the Chaos Plane, some Planary Realities abide
by much of the same physical laws and structure that we are used to.
Still others, however, such as the Elemental Planes, seem comprised
solely of one or another aspect of our Physical Reality. This is thought
to be true of the Planes of the Divine, wherein the perfect embodiment
of all things associated with the Divinity in question may be found. Of
course, whether such Planes could ever be breached by mortals of the
Physical Reality is an open question. Hope of such, however, may be
found in the presence of creatures from the Shadow Plane manifest within
our own Physical Reality.

Because the Shadow spawn seem to have manifest themselves in a state far
from the purity of Shadow known in their own realm, their power was
severely weakened. From this, we can assume that it was out of
necessity, rather than choice, that they undertook the forms they did in
our Reality. As such, it may be that mortals one day traveling to the
Shadow Plane themselves, via a supra-Planar mechanism such as temporal
threads, will manifest themselves within the destination Reality in as
close an approximation to their normal form as is possible within the
laws and structure of the relevant Reality.


Chapter 5: Vitro'a dzi Ater - Circles in Time


Due to the linear structure of the Temporal Reality, it is often
difficult to conceive of any internal structure whatsoever, and indeed
this seems to be the case, amazing as it may be. The Temporal Reality
exists, as far as can be determined, completely of its own accord. It
permeates all aspects of the lower Realities in such a fashion as to
affect all points within their system simultaneous.

The Temporal Reality can, however, be influenced via manipulation of the
geometries of the Ethereal and Physical Realities. Sufficient skill in
the utilization of corpuscles to enact interference between modicums of
the Versic and Base Elements, for example, can cause strain between the
fabric of the two Realities. This strain, in turn, causes the fabric of
the Temporal Reality to stretch and contract as the Realities it
interpolates twist and bend around it. The individual threads of the
Temporal Reality, if sufficiently manipulated, can also be made to bend
together to meet at common endpoints.

It is this final technique, the bending of temporal threads to meet at
common endpoints, that allows for the possibility of Planary travel. The
ability of an Indorani to pass into the Chaos Plane, for instance, is
only possible because of an enormous number of temporal threads having
been bound together through some unknown force in the Chaos Plane. These
threads cross into the Physical Reality at points all across the realm,
thus allowing the gate to the Chaos Plane to be opened by any
proficiency Indorani at any point.

This travel through temporal threads should not, however, be confused
with any notion of time travel. Travel through a temporal thread is
instantaneous, and there is no sensation of movement through an
alternate Reality by the traveler. Time travel is, for all intents and
purposes, impossible. The Temporal Reality is dimensionally limited, and
Time itself seems only able to pass in one direction - into the future.


Chapter 6: Qitretap di Zhatepere - Forever and Everywhere


What can be said of the realm inhabited by Varian, the Celestine? It is
all-encompassing, all-observing, all-knowing. What can be known by
mortal minds is known by Varian, and the geometry of His Sublime Reality
is what permits his omniscience.

The notion of travel into and out of the Sublime Reality generally falls
apart based on the simple fact that it exists Everywhere and Forever. It
encapsulates all temporal threads, all Planary Realities, all Ethereal
and Physical phenomenon. It Is as He Is.

It is limited only by the Variant Reality.


Chapter 7: Eke? Dru? Kina? Naridinith Komen - What? Why? When? Anything
Goes


The nature of the Variant Reality is entirely up to speculation. Its
existence is pure conjecture, supported only by circumstantial evidence
that is suspect at best. Nevertheless, given the nature of the rest of
our world, the existence of the Variant Reality would be almost
unsurprising.

The philosophical connotations of the Variant Reality are perhaps more
important than any scientific inquiry into it. The prospect of peoples,
places, or things existing and ceasing to exist based entirely on the
interplay of various unknown aspects of the more familiar Realities is
almost as disturbing as the prospect of knowledge out of reach of even
the Creator Himself. Of course, it should be clarified that such
concepts are entirely theoretical, and until further methods of probing
this hidden Reality are developed and further study of the known
Realities are made, further consideration of the implications the
Variant Reality may hold would be foolish.


Chapter 8: Fandare myd Afnir Zeirusa - Tying the Final Knots


Knowledge of our Physical Reality is for many people entirely sufficient
for a prosperous lifestyle. Others find talent in the manipulation of
the Ethereal Reality extremely useful in their pursuits of glory. Fewer
still take advantage of the creatures of the Planary Realities for their
own ends. Even the Temporal Reality is in some ways used by denizens of
our culture for their pursuits.

Yet all of these people recognize the necessity of knowledge. If one
does not know how magic is achieved, one cannot perform magic. It is
that simple. Unfortunately, far too many individuals stop short of
peering into the unknown, instead going only so far as they need to
achieve their goals. This is an unfortunate condition that permeates all
aspects of our society.

Though much progress has been made in the fields of society, there are
an infinity of questions left unanswered, an infinity of problems left
to solve. The world thirsts for knowledge, even where it knows not what
knowledge will quench its thirst. But this thirst will never be quenched
if others do not step up to the task of seeking out the secrets of our
world.

Some day, perhaps our culture will tie the final knots of the tapestry
that is our Reality. None can say what may occur when such knowledge is
readily available to our finest. But even then, it can be assured that,
although our spatial realm may be finite, the metaphysical areas to
explore are infinite and infinitely wondrous. Though such exploration
may be more difficult than an evening trip to Ulangi, it is far more
worthwhile. My associates and I implore any who seek to aide in the
pursuit of greater knowledge of our realm to seek out those, such as
myself, who are willing to aide in such ventures.


Our world is too grand to be left undiscovered, and no amount of walking
will ever trek its boundless face.



~Prince Zahmekoses Nebre'seir

Penned by my hand on the 18th of Midsummer, in the year 121 MA.