The Planes and Spirits of Morterra

''This world is one of many within the Prime, but there are even more outside of the plane itself. Morterra is involved in an entire system of planes, stretching from rowdy physical ones to the serene seas of the Astral and the Ethereal, to the unpredictable nature of the noumenal planes. Of course, one cannot talk about the planes without mentioning the Spirits either.''

The Planes and Spirits of Morterra
As Described by Weave Silverleaf

''It can be difficult to imagine the other planes, since although each is in its own orbit around another, they also overlap and tear the veil of reality. Weave Silverleaf is an expert on the planar cosmology, and is able to explain it to a more common person like me.''

The Physical Planes
The Inner Physical Planes are the worlds that most of us are relatively familiar with. These worlds consist of primarily matter, and can support classical life most effectively. Allow me to begin with how exactly matter is created, as that is an important step in the creation of a Physical Plane.

Matter is formed through what we’ll refer to as ‘creation energy’. This is an intangible form of energy, some would argue magic even, that can compile to conjure physical objects from nothing. This is the process that kickstarted the Elemental Plane.

The Elemental Plane is a realm of constant turmoil and chaos. Creation energy runs rampant in this space, and has formed immense natural structures of matter, such as heaving mountains, clear skies, deep oceans and lakes of fire. Although it is a harsh environment, it is by definition able to support life, and so it does with the Genies and Elementals. The Elemental Plane is not infinite, though. Not in the way we perceive it; although its interior is infinite and can theoretically contain an infinite amount of matter, there is a limit to how much creation energy is can house.

Which is where the Astral Sea comes into play. This is a hollow void that surrounds the Elemental Plane, and it can naturally not sustain matter within it. Any matter that does enter, is expelled to another plane. At some point in the past, the Elemental Plane produced too much matter with inherent creation energy for its own good, and flooded over. It did this into the Astral Sea, which has no way of supporting the matter, and now that the one plane that could was full, it had nowhere to send it to. This brings us to three new planes, formed from the matter that the Astral Sea had to expel.

Any matter with high inherent creation energy, was sent to the Feywild. The Feywild is a realm of many vibrant colours, and due to its high energy contents, unpredictable natural phenomena. It is actually surprising how far civilisation has managed to develop there, in spite of the risk of calamity at any moment. It is primarily inhabited by Gnomes and Eladrin currently, as well as several outcast Fey tribes and plant- and wildlife.

Matter with a medium creation energy is brought here, to the Prime, or Material Plane. This is the realm we all know and live in, with its curious natural cycles and ability to perpetuate fragile systems. Since the energy values here are middling, life can develop here much more predictably and naturally, which is shown in the spectrum of species inhabiting Huran alone. That leaves us with the last Physical Plane, the Shadowfell. One property of the Astral Sea I neglected to mention is that it slowly drains energy from matter inside of it. And since any low-energy matter remains the longest within, the chance of completely reducing the creation energy in a object to zero if it was close to that to begin with, is quite significant. Most of that matter is discarded into the Shadowfell. Essentially a large waste basket for the multiverse, the Shadowfell lacks the energy to spark life, leaving only undead and the odd spectre to roam it. That was of course, until the Shadar Kai decided it was a good idea to make a city there.

The Noumenal Planes
The Outer Planes are a curious archetype of planes. No one has been able to calculate how many there truly are, or even what the minimum requirement is to manifest one. The Outer Planes are created through thought and belief, rather than matter. As such, a physical person may have a hard time remaining there, and feel an odd air of illusion when residing. I have travelled to one once, and the controller of the plane was forced to simulate physical circumstances to allow me to view anything.

One thing we should discuss first, is the Ethereal Plane. This is the sister-void of the Astral Sea, being a completely white realm that links the Physical Planes to the Noumenal ones. Matter slowly disintegrates there, until only the matter, or in living beings’ cases, the soul, remains. From thereon out, it must be leashed by a more powerful being, such as a Spirit or Primordial, to be sent to one of the Outer Planes. Spirits not found by any deity are doomed to slowly go insane in the nothingness, losing their mind like they lost their body. Once a being leashes a soul through the Ethereal Plane, the soul ends up in one of the countless Outer Planes. These planes were created based upon an idea or a thought. The more popular the thought becomes among mortals in the Inner Planes, the stronger the associated Outer Plane grows and the closer it orbits the Inner Planes. Since times forgotten, we have revered natural beings and places as our guides, so most of the strongest planes are ruled by deities resembling those beliefs that we still hold. Things like Noreil the Lion, who stands for bravery and courage among Lighthavians. When a soul is ripped from their body, typically through death, they arrive at the Ethereal Plane to be judged by Naie the Wolf. Naie then leashes them to the plane their innermost ideal corresponds with, to be put to rest in the landscapes that their ideal has made for them.

The Primordial Constants
Now that we have an established view on where we are, let’s see with who we share this multiverse. For one, there are the three Primordial Constants. The Primordials were the first Spirits to be created through mortal devotion; there is Noleph, the oldest of the three.

Noleph the Body, as is her full title, was the incarnation of how the first peoples, primarily the Dwarves, Goliath and Dragonborn, saw the soil beneath their feet as. A welcoming and warm-hearted being who carried the world on her back. She currently resides somewhere within the Elemental Plane, as Primordials were born before the Outer Planes developed. Although she began as the land itself, she has slowly taken the more modern form of a sea turtle.

Then came Aspaar the Mind, the first semblance of thought among mortals. Aspaar seeks knowledge and encourages others to seek it as well. His vast well of information has allowed him to become a curator of the multiverse, keeping the realms intact and maintaining the Arcane Weave that pierces them. His form is that of a snake, as they were seen among the early druids as the wisest animals. His scales are black as night, with glistening white ones sporadically replacing the darkness. The night sky has been the target of many aspiring eyes, hoping to one day find what they look for. The last of the three, Naie the Soul. When man began thinking, so came the question of who they themselves were. This brought about the belief of the soul, an intangible essence inside every living being. They weren’t wrong, exactly, just… professionals prefer the term creation energy. Naie stalks the Ethereal Plane, having found it shortly before the Outer Planes came to be. There, is hunts souls of the recently-perished. If and when it finds one, it recognises where the being belongs, and sends them there.

The Spirits
Now I won’t go over every single one, there are far too many to ever do that. But I will explain how to spot one. A Spirit is formed form an idea, concept or thought. When that idea is first formed, it becomes a speck in the cosmic cloud. Generally, this idea is coincided with an association from the thinker’s reference frame, which is generally animal or natural symbolism, such as a vulture indicating death and decay. When more and more people believe in it, the speck grows larger and larger, until a Spirit with considerable power is formed. This Spirit has divine powers, such as granting magic to those who swear allegiance to it, and they can travel as an avatar to the Physical Planes.

With ideas, however, come bad ones too. Fears and amalgamations of evil concepts. These are given the same treatment as Spirits, the cosmos doesn’t discriminate. So, legends such as Devils and Aboleths eventually become more than just words; they became a reality. A faraway reality, but a reality nonetheless. And these beings have similar divine powers. Fortunately for us, fear is often trumped by love. This has allowed the stronger Spirits to protect the Physical Planes from threats from the outside, by orbiting so close that no other plane can catch a break. It can’t stop the monsters forever, though. And they, like mortals, innovate and develop. Eventually they always find some way of passing the barrier, such as what the Demons did all those years ago. The most dangerous scenario is when mortals become servants to these dark beings, enamoured with their sickening radiance and allowing them to grow stronger through their positive devotion and occult rituals.