World

The World, also called the Inmost Realm or Material Planes, the Heartlands or the Fields of Fate, is the centre of reality, or at least of this reality. It is the part of Existence furthest from the Void, and thus least subject to the random and often harmful transformations which can wrack the outer planes.   The centre of the centre is Aiaos itself, a dome of land and ocean. This is the plan of matter, both vital and inanimate, where mortals strive and struggle and in so doing give life and power to the Young Gods. Some believe that Aiaos is the pinnacle and purpose of the The Primeval Gods' creation, while other philosophies label it as the mere engine to drive that which truly matters.   In addition to Aiaos, the Inner Realm encompasses the Primal Wild and the Grim Plain. Sometimes collectively called the Mirror Planes, these are parallels to Aiaos in many ways, with similar landforms and landmarks, but changed in ways subtle or gross. The Primal Wild is a realm of rampant life and growth, its landscape dominated by verdant planes and tangled forests. Conversely, the Grim Plain is a cold, barren place, with little life or light.   An oddity of the Mirrors is that they are much, much larger than Aiaos. While they share the same shape, the Mirrors 'fold' in strange ways, such that the same landmarks might be much further apart, paths might link distant points as though they were adjacent, and the wrong turn might take a traveller into a convoluted wrinkle in the cosmic topology, a pocket realm with its own rules. Small wrinkles are accessible only in specific points in the Mirror, while larger ones may have means of access from Aiaos. The largest are entered through gorges or canyons in the Mirror, with gates on Aiaos manifesting as glades, stone circles or other sites of power, and even small gates in the opposite Mirror.   The wrinkles in the Primal Wild are called Faewolds, and are the homes of the mercurial fae. Some, known as freewolds, are purely wild places, while others fall into the control of the mighty Archfae and conform to the rules that they set. Those in the Grim Plain are called sepulchres, and connect Aiaos to a larger domain of mists and shadow which appear to bridge the Void to other worlds, should a traveller ever manage to leave it.   Surrounding the World are the Elemental Planes. These are separated from the World by the Elemental Boundary, but the boundary has openings at the cardinal extents of the World. Elemental energy forms in these realms, then passes through the Primal Wild to bring life to Aiaos, while death, decay and corruption leech out into the Grim Plain en route to The Abyss.