Neyras - The Unfolding Dream
Arandorean cosmologists theorize the existence of a vast encompassing cosmos, which has many names. It is mentioned in the partially deciphered scripts of various ancient dialects as Anarra, Tu'Neiran, Astanor, or, more commonly, in Arandor: Neyras.
Cosmologists do not agree to the nature of the Cosmos. Some believe the universe is separate to the spiritual realms of Yrion and Khanoth, whilst others theorize that everything is part of the same universe.
The most common cosmological representation could resemble an unusual nebula or galaxy. If one were to move outside the entirety of the universe and try to look at it, then the image that most cosmologists are trying to convey would be this:
Cosmologists have agreed to a convention, whereby there are three states of existence.
The first and most ancient of these states is the Eternal state. The Pillar of Eternity and the heavenly realm of Yrion - the High Aether represents this state. It is therefore the state associated with the Aethons and the other Celestial beings. The Aether is eternal, having a timeless quality. It symbolizes timeless perfection, it stands to represent the loftiest force in the universe. Likewise, the Aether contains boundless potential, it is at the same time the potential and culmination of everything else in the cosmos. That does not mean to say that the Aether itself does not have a notion of time or transition. It does. But this notion, such as it is, is entirely disconnected to any such experience elsewhere in the Cosmos. Encompassing Yrion, is a dome of myriad other universes gleaming from afar like stars. These are simply referred to as the Realms Beyond, and though many have studied them, there is no surviving lore regarding these distant lights.
The second state is the Entropic state. This is the polar opposite of the Eternal state, the tendency of everything to collapse. The crimson abyss of Khanoth - The Eternal Nightmare, represents this state. Khanoth is a realm that bleeds for eternity, and everything therein dies perpetually falling into the bottomless Abyss. There is pain, anger, suffering, and misery, and terror within Khanoth, and there is emptiness , darkness and primeval hunger. It is eternity, but in its malign, relentless form, where everything tends to be suffering. To the Evolving beings, Khanoth is a challenge to overcome, in their quest to attain the Eternal. In that regard, many mystics refer to it as the Umbra, the Shadow Realms or the Shadowlands, for it is an illusory, transient state before the Eternal.
The third state is the Evolving state. This is the dynamic state that is born as a result of the conflict between the Eternal and the Entropic. The Unfolding Dream of Neyras represents this state. Neyras is dynamic existence that is becoming, rising to escape the Entropic, and always aspiring towards the Eternal, yet being subject to both, and neither. Neyras is thus home to the various realms where Existence takes the finite form we are most familiar with. As such, Neyras is governed by different laws to the other two states and corresponding domains.
It spans like a disk of innumerable stars, countless worlds, realms and domains, hosting the homes of countless lifeforms, that are all mostly various humanoids and animals or beasts. Very few lifeforms escape these rules, residing on the verges of Neyras, known as the Azure Reaches. These are the mysterious Outlanders - the most eccentric, alien, or even outright weird forms of life in the entirety of Neyras.
In the center of Neyras, close to the Pillar of Eternity, lies the Core Realm. None have managed to penetrate this domain without being torn apart by the powerful cosmic forces that are at work there. Only legends are told about the nature of the Core Realm and who or what might inhabit it. Some posit that the colossal metropolis of Avernon is concealed within the Core Realm. Others say, it is the home realm of none other than Arcaon the Dreamer - the proto-deity of the Unfolding Dream. And of course, many say there is nothing to be found in the Core Realm, except for devastating cosmic forces, holding the rest of the universe together.
Surrounding the Core Realm are the various other parts of Neyras, spanning between the Core Realm and the Azure Reaches, and between the darkness of Khanoth and the divine fire of Yrion.
Cosmologists do not agree to the nature of the Cosmos. Some believe the universe is separate to the spiritual realms of Yrion and Khanoth, whilst others theorize that everything is part of the same universe.
The most common cosmological representation could resemble an unusual nebula or galaxy. If one were to move outside the entirety of the universe and try to look at it, then the image that most cosmologists are trying to convey would be this:
Cosmologists have agreed to a convention, whereby there are three states of existence.
The first and most ancient of these states is the Eternal state. The Pillar of Eternity and the heavenly realm of Yrion - the High Aether represents this state. It is therefore the state associated with the Aethons and the other Celestial beings. The Aether is eternal, having a timeless quality. It symbolizes timeless perfection, it stands to represent the loftiest force in the universe. Likewise, the Aether contains boundless potential, it is at the same time the potential and culmination of everything else in the cosmos. That does not mean to say that the Aether itself does not have a notion of time or transition. It does. But this notion, such as it is, is entirely disconnected to any such experience elsewhere in the Cosmos. Encompassing Yrion, is a dome of myriad other universes gleaming from afar like stars. These are simply referred to as the Realms Beyond, and though many have studied them, there is no surviving lore regarding these distant lights.
The second state is the Entropic state. This is the polar opposite of the Eternal state, the tendency of everything to collapse. The crimson abyss of Khanoth - The Eternal Nightmare, represents this state. Khanoth is a realm that bleeds for eternity, and everything therein dies perpetually falling into the bottomless Abyss. There is pain, anger, suffering, and misery, and terror within Khanoth, and there is emptiness , darkness and primeval hunger. It is eternity, but in its malign, relentless form, where everything tends to be suffering. To the Evolving beings, Khanoth is a challenge to overcome, in their quest to attain the Eternal. In that regard, many mystics refer to it as the Umbra, the Shadow Realms or the Shadowlands, for it is an illusory, transient state before the Eternal.
The third state is the Evolving state. This is the dynamic state that is born as a result of the conflict between the Eternal and the Entropic. The Unfolding Dream of Neyras represents this state. Neyras is dynamic existence that is becoming, rising to escape the Entropic, and always aspiring towards the Eternal, yet being subject to both, and neither. Neyras is thus home to the various realms where Existence takes the finite form we are most familiar with. As such, Neyras is governed by different laws to the other two states and corresponding domains.
It spans like a disk of innumerable stars, countless worlds, realms and domains, hosting the homes of countless lifeforms, that are all mostly various humanoids and animals or beasts. Very few lifeforms escape these rules, residing on the verges of Neyras, known as the Azure Reaches. These are the mysterious Outlanders - the most eccentric, alien, or even outright weird forms of life in the entirety of Neyras.
In the center of Neyras, close to the Pillar of Eternity, lies the Core Realm. None have managed to penetrate this domain without being torn apart by the powerful cosmic forces that are at work there. Only legends are told about the nature of the Core Realm and who or what might inhabit it. Some posit that the colossal metropolis of Avernon is concealed within the Core Realm. Others say, it is the home realm of none other than Arcaon the Dreamer - the proto-deity of the Unfolding Dream. And of course, many say there is nothing to be found in the Core Realm, except for devastating cosmic forces, holding the rest of the universe together.
Surrounding the Core Realm are the various other parts of Neyras, spanning between the Core Realm and the Azure Reaches, and between the darkness of Khanoth and the divine fire of Yrion.
Cosmologists and storytellers alike have written tales about the fantastic worlds spanning all over Neyras, and thus they divide the universe in regions with evocative names. The outer reaches they divide into the Wyld Realms, the Distant Reaches, the Desolate Wastes and the Mechan Expanse. The Inner realms, between the outer ones and the core realm, they divide into the Adamant Span, the Bright Realms, the Timeless Seas and the Tempest. There are many theories and stories behind these names. They are far too extensive and would takes us far beyond the scope of the general information regarding the Unfolding Dream.
What is important and relevant in our case, is that Neyras, the Unfolding Dream, the Universe of a myriad names and a myriad worlds is the embodiment of the Evolving State and as such, it is the source of Destiny, a power that suffuses the whole of Neyras, but also affects Yrion and Khanoth. And Destiny becomes manifest more potently in the Prime Worlds, select domains and realms within Neyras where the power of Destiny is stronger. If one were to see the force of destiny as it emanates from the Prime Worlds, they would see them as huge beacons of this power. This powerful concentration of Destiny forms a force field around these worlds, protecting them from the direct interference of the other cosmic forces.
This is why an Aethon must choose to become mortal in order to be reborn into the lifecycle of a particular Prime World, and only thus can they affect the Prime World and shape destiny. Thus the law of evolution subjects even the Aethon into the laws of Neyras.
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