Black Plauge
13th of December, 2007, 04:06
The arrangement of the planes that surround Dünya is based on the overlap of spheres. Four "large" spheres define the outer planes and four "small" spheres define the inner planes. The larger, outer spheres are defined by their moral and ethical traits, with one plane each for Good, Evil, Order, and Chaos (the first two are the moral planes, the later two the ethical ones). The smaller, inner spheres are defined by their element: Earth, Fire, Air, & Water.
Where spheres overlap, a mixture of the traits occurs. For the inner spheres, the scholarly community that studies the planes have agreed on names for these mixtures. For the outer spheres, however, there is still considerable debate over what these mixtures properly represent and so the scholarly community generally uses the name of the inhabitants of that plane to identify it. However, proponent of specific names will generally use those names in order to try and gain acceptance for them.
Below are three maps with the generally accepted layout of the planes, and the scholarly identifiers for each. The words "domain," "realm," "land," and "home" are used almost interchangeably when referring to the outer planes (as some languages do not differentiate between all four terms), so the identifiers for those planes simply represent an example name.
The first map shows all of the planes, both inner and outer. However, it should be noted, that since direction is ill defined on the Astral Plane, the relative orientation of the Inner Planes to the Outer Planes should not be taken as absolute. Indeed, amongst those who frequently travel the Outer Planes, there are said to be 8 directions: 4 out and 4 in. Also, they report that excepting for points which are on the boundry between the Astral Plane and an Inner or Outer plane, all 4 of the accessible Inner Planes are the same distance away (one in each of the 4 inner directions) and likewise for the 4 accessible Outer Planes. Since this clearly confounds the geometry of the Material Plane, mappers are forced to make drawings like the one shown when trying to show the relationship between the planes, even though they cannot be deemed accurate.
The second map shows a close up on the Inner Planes so that the names on the Quasielemental Planes can be read.
The third map shows the known native inhabitants of the plane. In the case of the Outer Planes, the known inhabitants are the different kinds of Outsider. In the case of the Inner planes, they are the different kinds of Elemental. Note that the Outer Spheres do not have a known native inhabitant. This is because travel to those locales is so restricted, that scholars have not been able to identify any of the creatures on those spheres as native or not. On the other hand, travel to the Astral Plane is so easy, that scholars believe no species which lives there can truly be identified as a native.
Where spheres overlap, a mixture of the traits occurs. For the inner spheres, the scholarly community that studies the planes have agreed on names for these mixtures. For the outer spheres, however, there is still considerable debate over what these mixtures properly represent and so the scholarly community generally uses the name of the inhabitants of that plane to identify it. However, proponent of specific names will generally use those names in order to try and gain acceptance for them.
Below are three maps with the generally accepted layout of the planes, and the scholarly identifiers for each. The words "domain," "realm," "land," and "home" are used almost interchangeably when referring to the outer planes (as some languages do not differentiate between all four terms), so the identifiers for those planes simply represent an example name.
The first map shows all of the planes, both inner and outer. However, it should be noted, that since direction is ill defined on the Astral Plane, the relative orientation of the Inner Planes to the Outer Planes should not be taken as absolute. Indeed, amongst those who frequently travel the Outer Planes, there are said to be 8 directions: 4 out and 4 in. Also, they report that excepting for points which are on the boundry between the Astral Plane and an Inner or Outer plane, all 4 of the accessible Inner Planes are the same distance away (one in each of the 4 inner directions) and likewise for the 4 accessible Outer Planes. Since this clearly confounds the geometry of the Material Plane, mappers are forced to make drawings like the one shown when trying to show the relationship between the planes, even though they cannot be deemed accurate.
The second map shows a close up on the Inner Planes so that the names on the Quasielemental Planes can be read.
The third map shows the known native inhabitants of the plane. In the case of the Outer Planes, the known inhabitants are the different kinds of Outsider. In the case of the Inner planes, they are the different kinds of Elemental. Note that the Outer Spheres do not have a known native inhabitant. This is because travel to those locales is so restricted, that scholars have not been able to identify any of the creatures on those spheres as native or not. On the other hand, travel to the Astral Plane is so easy, that scholars believe no species which lives there can truly be identified as a native.