The Planes
The Dominion of Arthos is vast and often too complex for mortal minds to comprehend. Even the brightest of Conclave scholars admit they have only scratched the surface of planar exploration. Their current and most popular theories suggest the domain of Arthos is split into two realms, each containing a number of Planes. These are called The Central Realm and The Outer Realm, between them, and filling in the spaces around them, is the Astral Void.
In the beginning of creation only the Central Realm existed and all the Planes of existence were one, overlapping in harmony and unison at a single point known as the Dreamleaf Plane. When the Dreamleaf was mortally wounded during the The Age of Reverie the ensuing cataclysm shattered the Planes and sent them hurtling in different directions, many getting tangled in the roots and branches of the dying Dreamleaf. It is for this reason mortals refer to it as the World Tree or Tree of Life. The Dreamleaf Plane, now known as the Inner Plane, connects the other planes together within the Central Realm, feeding them magic through broken, but still functioning, Ley Lines.
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The Central Realm
The Central Realm is a collection of planes that make up the core fundamental infrastructure of Arthos. There are eight planes that reside within the Central Realm. The largest of these is the Inner Plane, known also as the World Tree, and it is along this Plane that the other seven are oriented.
The Planes of the Central Realm are organized based on where along the World Tree they are situated.
The Crown of the World Tree:
- The Life Plane
- The Plane of Air
- The Plane of Fire
The Trunk of the World Tree:
- The Material Plane (Home of the Mortals)
The Roots of the World Tree:
- The Death Plane
- The Plane of Earth
- The Plane of Water
The Outer Realm
While the Central Realm is composed of the entangled and shattered planes that were once the Dreamleaf, the Planes of Outer Realm are unconnected. Most are made from the fragments of the Dreamleaf that were blown away during its sundering, and are those that did not get caught in the roots or branches. Some, however, are new, constructed by forces of great power.
The following planes exist within the Outer Realm:
- The Celestial Realms
- The Deadlands
- The Far Realm and the Plane of Faerie
- The Hellstack Plane
- The Shadow Plane
The Astral Void
Existing between the planes is the Astral Void. Blowing through this space is the Ethereal Wind, and it is this wind that causes the planes to occasionally shift closer together or further apart. When this occurs the veil between the planes is weakened, and the two planes often have dramatic effects upon one another. The best example of this can be seen around the time of All Hallows, where the veil is thin between the material plane and the Plane of Death, creating larger numbers of naturally occurring undead.
Few creatures call this place between reality home. Many of the inhabitants there are twisted horrors, however, this is not always the case. A tribe of Wild Elves who found themselves within this void learned to adapt enough to sustain themselves within the plane, and occasionally travel back and forth between the Material Plane and the Astral Void.