User:Aarnott/Lego Bin 15/Cosmology

= Cosmology =

Mystos takes a departure from the traditional D&D cosmology. The elemental planes still exist in a sense, but they are not so physically separated from the material plane. The planes are physically connected in Mystos. People could sail to the edge of the world and enter the astral plane. If they time it right, they can enter Phylea, the elemental plane of fire, by sailing directly into the sun at sunrise. The oceans themselves are Mysta's domain and, thus, are the elemental plane of water.

Phylea, the Infinite Forge
The sun that burns in the sky is Phylea, the Infinite Forge. In traditional D&D terms, it is the elemental plane of fire.

Every morning the forge is lit by Korla, the goddess of fire, in the eastern sky. One of the two cursed god-born (Jango or Jangi) drags Phylea across the sky until it reaches the west side of the world. At that point, the fires slowly burn out and turn to ash. Any creature inside the forge when the fires die off will be rolled into a ball by the god-born as he cleans up the ash.

The City of Brass is created each night after Phylea burns out. Durao, the god of architecture, builds the city each night in exchange for Maeli's hand in marriage. During the day, the city is filled with efreeti merchants that transport their goods into the city from other parts of the infinite forge.

Typical fire based creatures live in the deserts, volcanos, and lavaflows found in Phylea. These areas and the creatures that reside in them turn into stone during the night when Phylea is extinguished and are reanimated in the morning.

Mise, Heaven's Gate and the Root of Mise
At the center of the world there is a mountain so large and so tall that it penetrates the clouds and reaches far into the heavens. This mountain is called the Root of Mise. It acts as a stairway to Mise, Heaven's gate: a vast golden city built in the clouds that acts as a gateway to the Hallway of the Gods.

The Root of Mise is also a border zone between the western, civilized world of mortals and the areas unknown to any mortal besides the greatest of heroes. There are a scattering of islands directly surrounding the Root of Mise where monstrous races have set up their own civilizations. These monsters tend to worship lesser God-Born or just monsters in general and sometimes band together to launch raids against the civilized western world. This area is called the near east (although it isn't really that "near" to the civilized world, it is certainly closer than what lies beyond the Root of Mise).

Mise, itself, is probably the biggest city in Mystos (not mortal city, though). It is inhabited by various lesser God-Born and monstrous creatures that are pretty powerful on their own right, but have no claim to be worshipped. These beings usually are granted immortality by performing important services for the gods, one of which is making sure that the entrance to the Hallway of the Gods is very well defended.

Surrounding Mise is a vast world built on the clouds that parallels the typical D&D elemental plane of air. Some of the clouds are solid enough to walk on and even build castles on and some giants do this very thing.

Nox, Land of the Dead
On the reverse side of Phylea is Nox, Land of the Dead. Nox is the moon of Mystos although, like Phylea, if you sail far enough, you  will be able to sail into the rivers of Nox and visit it. Nox is filled with rivers of pure negative energy. In fact, Nox itself is the source of all negative energy in Mystos (it is the negative energy plane).

One of the two cursed god born (Jango or Jangi) drags Nox across the night sky. For 3 days each month, Jango or Jangi is allowed to rest and not drag Nox across the sky (this occurs during a new moon). This was an ancient deal made with Neul when they were punished for their treachery.

Souls lost at sea find their way to Nox as it passes in the west or east. People that are buried have their souls travel the long journey to the heart of the world, where Neul comes to return souls and collect souls each day.

Souls that have not had their debts paid in life, must work for Neul to pay their debts. Once their debt is paid, they can go back to the heart of the world and their soul will travel back to the world and allow the person to be reincarnated. Sometimes Neul will allow a soul to leave early in exchange for something more valuable than their services in Nox.

Gaen, the Heart of the World
At the very core of the world of Mystos is a giant stone heart that beats to an unwavering rhythm. This heart is the center of the elemental plane of earth, Korm's domain, and is called Gaen, the Heart of the World.

Gaen resides in a massive chamber underground surrounded by valuable veins of metals and gemstones. The legend of the richness of the heart of the world has attracted many heroes to try to find their way there. Very few have survived. Gaen is guarded by some of the most deadly monsters.

When souls from Nox have finished their servitude, they are sent to Gaen. From there, there are sent through one of the beats of the heart back into the world where they will be reincarnated.

The Underdark
Deep below the oceans lies a network of sealed caverns called the underdark. There is no real difference from this underdark and the standard D&D underdark. Some islands will have massive tunnels that wind all the way down to the underdark. Generally, these tunnels are near the Root of Mise, so they are only really linked to the near eastern monster colonies.

Tartarus, the Nine Hells
Even deeper below Gaen (which is below the underdark), is Tartarus, the Nine Hells. For the purposes of this campaign setting, demons and devils are God-Born that fought against the gods during the Divine Cataclysm. There is no distinction between them either. They both reside in the nine hells and are just called devils or demons (since they are synonymous words).

Particularly evil souls will get sent here for eternity as a punishment. The demons drain the essence from these souls to fuel their immortality. A demon's strength is based on the number of souls it has captive. As a result, souls are a valuable traded commodity for demons and devils. And the stronger the soul, the better the price.

Demons also spend a majority of their time scheming up ways to invade the surface and harvest souls. Outright attacks will often be met with resistance from Angelic armies, however, so demons will often tempt mortals into doing terrible things or just going on a random rampage as an isolated incident.

The Elysian Fields
Above even the Hallway of the Gods, high in the sky, is the Elysian Fields. They are a place where the most influential and honored souls are allowed to go. They are a place of pure paradise. Mortals see them as stars in the sky. Each constellation represents the personal lands of an honored hero.

The fields themselves take the place of both the positive energy plane and several outer planes. Angels and archons reside in the Elysian Fields and watch the demons of Tartarus vigilantly.