The Leyline crisis

Aether is a place of unbound creation, of magic in its purest, of energy and destruction and rebirth. The physical nature of Aether is that of chaos. It is described as a great burning landscape, rent asunder with lightning and fire and motion, where thunder roars and wind howls as they and every other force in physics battle for dominance. Surrounding and infusing this storm of energy is the power of magic. Mana falls from the sky like rain, and the air is charged with resonance and potential for mighty spells and works of arcane power.

The power of Aether is such that it can be felt in the air as one travels there. It seeps into the skin, pervasive and infectious, making everything appear clearer, sharper, brighter, and more beautiful. Aether's energy makes things seem more real than they are in the Material realm, more idealised into the way they should be. This majesty is both inspiring and heart-rending, evoking both joy and fear in the hearts of mortals.

Forces are the Gross Arcanum of Aether; dynamism and energy constantly suffuse Aether. Lightning rips through the skies, while the ground burns with a supernatural intensity. Winds of impossible speed rip through Aether, changing in speed and direction, and the sky blazes with bright light. From this roiling maelstrom of energy stems the Arcanum of Forces. This Arcanum impacts on the material realm through the myriad forms of energy present here; heat, electricity, light, motion, gravity, sound, and nuclear radiation.

The subtle expression of the Aether, the Arcanum of Prime represents the raw power and potential of magic. The Aether is a realm of creation, and heavily saturated with magic, and so it is infused with the prima materia, the energy of magic and the fire of creation, this is represented through Prime. In short, the Arcanum of Prime deals with the essence of magic itself. It interacts with the material world via the various forms of pure magic to be found there: Mana, Hallows, and the enchantment of objects, resonance, and tass.

Aether is a realm of constant creation; even the destruction wreaked by the fire and lightning of the Arcanum of Forces is merely a tool, a means to clear away the old and make room for the new. In this environment of creation, growth, and beginning, the powers of decay and endings hold little sway. As such, the Arcanum of Death, as it deals primarily with such forces, is restricted to those who would draw their magic from this realm.

Like all the Supernal Realms, the exact nature of Pandemonium is somewhat subjective. The most common realm experienced by arriving people is that of a vast network of caverns, without end or outside, populated by a horde of unruly deformed creatures; the demons of Pandemonium. This great maze has no true beginning or end, but winds on and on through throngs of madcap beasts, stretching on into eternity. The pathways and passages inconstant; they shift from visit to visit, but there are some stationary features, although they shift in size, shape and appearance; these are demon kingdoms. Their exact nature shifts, their theme remains invariable for those who can see them for what they are; the demons of pandemonium.

Pandemonium is often compared to the idea of the 'shadow' of the collective subconscious, a place of rejected ideas and fallen ideals. Thus, the demons of Pandemonium are identified by scholars from other Paths as dark reflections of creatures native to their Paths; fallen angels, Unseelie Fae, rabid beasts, evil spirits or malevolent dead; others think the realm is a vision of a possible future; a mass Awakening of humanity without the necessary mental discipline. Each demon is viewed as human wielding power beyond their understanding and control, their darkest desires and basest urges expressed through their unWise use of magic.

Many mages view the Supernal Realms as stages along the soul's journey to absolute transcendence, vital steps that must be taken before ascension to the place beyond the Fallen and Supernal Realms. If this is the case, then Pandemonium is the place of penitence, where souls are purged of its sins, derangements, cares, obsessions, and attachments to the material world. The moment the soul arrives in this realm, packs of demons descend on him/her, screeching and clamoring with joy as they tear them apart. This torture is not malicious in aspect, though the demons seem to enjoy it; they are a form of spiritual surgery, a way of cutting out the bad parts. There is no anesthetic for this surgery, no peaceful sleep while the fiends do their awful work; the victim has lived too long in ignorance of the pain he has caused others and must now feel its full force. Without this the soul cannot have empathy, nor share in the souls of others, so cannot rise into true until with them.

The subtle expression of Pandemonium. The Realm of Pandemonium is a place of scourging. The purpose of this place is to cleanse a soul of its sins through ritual punishment, before it can move on to other Realms. As such, the powers of Pandemonium must reach inside the minds of arrivals, to lay bare all their sins, worldly attachments and neuroses for systematic purging. The arcanum of pandemonium grant this power to those mages who would wield it in their own name. The Arcanum of Mind bestows mastery over telepathy, mental control, communication, and the nuances of dreams and Astral Space.

Space, the gross expression of Pandemonium. The Abode of Demons is a prison for the soul, and although no sentence to its depths is permanent, escape cannot be allowed, lest a soul evade scourging by the wardens and enter whatever lies beyond the Realms Supernal still tainted by vice and materialism. The Realm’s security system is simple yet effective; escape is literally impossible as the Realm’s tunnels curve back in on themselves in impossible directions, and any who attempts to flee winds up precisely where they were before. This power is made available to wielders of Pandemonaic energy via the Arcanum of Space. Those who learn the secrets of this Arcanum can draw on scrying, teleportation, wards, and conjuration.

There are a number of theories amongst the Warlocks as to why their power over Matter is diminished. Some believe that it is due to a lack of metaphysical weight in the Realm to contain or obstruct one’s actions. Others think that matter is seen as inimical to demons because it is the only thing that can bind them, and that it is not truly present in Pandemonium. Still others theorize that Pandemonium is ‘denser’ than the other Supernal Realms, and this weight draws it closer to the Material Realm; thus, some of the Material Realm’s laws act on Pandemonium. Matter cannot easily be manipulated by the mages, as this theory would have it, because the Realm is partially affected by the laws of the material realm matter. Whatever the cause, the Pandemonium mages cannot easily wield the Arcanum of Matter.

Arcadia is a realm of constant change. The weather, the landmarks, even the very geography is never the same per visit. Each mage reports different features they notice upon arrival in the realm. On the whole, the physical features of Arcadia are similar to those of the material realm, but taken to extremes. Great mountains, vast oceans, deep caves, fetid swamps, and plains and deserts that stretch on forever are commonplace.
But these features are transient. Rivers change their courses. Mountain ranges shift. Only two features are known to be constant, and only one is ever in the same place for any length of time. The first of these is the source of the Alphaeus River, but although the source is always around somewhere, that somewhere changes frequently. The second is the Watchtower of the Lunargent Thorn, which is always at the centre of the realm, though that centre has been known to shift around from time to time.
The weather in Arcadia is even more fickle than the land. Great storms and tornadoes whip up at random and out of nowhere, accompanied by earthquakes of frightening intensity. These conditions disappear as soon as they come, giving way to skies of blazing azure and light, playful breezes. Drought and floods, rain and snow, gales and storms each occur in places on a regular and disorienting basis. Time, too, is sporadic in comparison to the material realm. The stories of people going to sleep in an isolated part of the wilderness only to wake up centuries later most probably stem from contact with the realm of Arcadia. There is only one binding thing in Arcadia, and that is the force of words. Words spoken in Arcadia have great and terrible power, and the realm can exert this power over those who speak foolishly or who would make a false oath.


Fate, the subtle expression of Arcadia. Action is a driving factor in Arcadia. To do nothing is to stagnate. Every action in the realm of the Fae implies risk, and this risk powers the realm. Everything one does in Arcadia is a risky endeavour, as even a perfectly executed plan can bring down a world of pain as the chaotic and uncaring environment foils foolproof plans. The power of chance is strong here, and to those who would draw their strength from here is granted the Arcanum of Fate; the power to increase their chances of survival, and to lay down blessings and curses, and to make oaths binding.

Time: the gross expression of Arcadia. Time passes strangely in the realm of the Fae. What seem like minutes in Arcadia may denote the passing of years in the material realm, as the myths tell, and the reverse may also be true. Journeys of miles may take days in the Fallen World’s time, yet they seem only as minutes to the traveller. To those who follow the Path of Arcadia, the Realm grants the power of the Arcanum of Time; seeing into the future, looking into the past, and even interacting with the past and future.

The environment of Arcadia is constantly changing. Storms, earthquakes, and volcanoes are common coin there. This general unpredictability in the realm makes control of Forces there difficult; it is difficult to grasp at things that are constantly in motion. The mage thus find their control over the powers of the Arcanum of Forces limited; drawing their powers from Arcadia as they do, they are subject to the Realm’s weaknesses as well as its strengths.

Stygia is a dead Realm, and nothing moves in the realm of the dead. The realm is a place of quiet contemplation, the phrase, 'silent as the grave, and still as a tomb', is the most fitting description, souls awaiting their transition to whatever comes after death. In Stygia, souls of the departed wait in the graves to begin their journey to along the supernal path. Stygia is the realm located closest to the material world, here our souls are purged of all material desires they had while they were alive in the material realm. No one may leave the shores of Stygia until they learn to let go of their old loves. Some shades of Stygia take longer than others, some move thru almost instantly, others can take centuries.

Everybody experiences the realm differently, but all agree that it is quiet and still. It is 'serene', 'peaceful' is inaccurate, which implies an air of benevolence. Beyond this air of tranquility, no two people agree on the physical nature of Stygia. The Kingdoms of Crypts sometimes manifests as literal interpretation of its moniker, abounding with graveyards, tombs, even a few Egyptian or Mayan pyramids. (Remember not every culture views death in the same light as ours, the Egyptians worshipped and venerated their dead.) Stygia may also be a place of rugged white marble mountains, streaked with silver and gold.


The realm is ostensibly lit by pale and weak light, echoing of the material realm's sun, filtered heavily through the omnipresent cloud layer. However, most of the real light of Stygia stems from the torches placed around the crypts, and funeral pyres place in and around crypts and graveyards, or from rock formations glowing with a pale inner light or reflecting the the radiance of the sun or the torches off the veins and ribbons of precious metals and mineral deposits.


Indeed, such materials are everywhere one looks in Stygia. Either from veins of gold, silver, or platinum, or clusters of gemstones big as a mountain or the riches within the tombs of its inhabitants, Stygia is a place of immense material wealth, although it often will become quite deadly if a shade cant quite move on without it and someone strays too close.
     
 Great rivers of death flow through Stygia, although its inhabitants refuse to go near them. Following them downriver takes a traveller to the Watchtower ; following them upriver is notably difficult. At some point the mage reaches a point where they realize that what lies further upriver is no longer Stygia. Some have theorized it's a Supernal Realm of pure Death with no Matter, while others suggest it may be Hell.


The subtle expression of Stygia. Stygia is the one place where the soul of every dead person goes, though they will eventually move on to some other realm. As such, the resonance of Stygia is a feeling of endings. Shadows consume light. Souls come to rest. Life decays. Even the power of magic withers and fades. This energy, decay and endings, touches everything that links with the realm of Stygia, and influences the material world via the Arcanum of Death. Those who employ this power are granted influences over darkness, decay, ectoplasm, enervation, ghosts, and souls.


The gross expression of Stygia. All matter in Stygia is subordinate to the will of the mages. It is how a fingernail can scratch names into solid marble, why gold and silver and crystal, as well as other less precious materials, erupt from the surface of the realm. Even the element of life itself, water is present. (See above) The riches of the dead are there for all to see and the living mages who come must make more than a spiritual connection; it must be a physical link between themselves and the watchtower. In Stygia, tangible matter is prevalent over transient spirit, and this gravity leaks down into the material world via the Arcanum of Matter. Those who master this Arcanum can wield power over the very building blocks of matter down to the subatomic level, disciplines such as: Alchemy, Chemistry, Elemtental air (gas), earth (solid), fire (plasma), and water (liquid), Quantum Mechanics, Shaping, & transmutation.


The notion of a spirit is substantially different to that of a soul. Many people cannot seem to understand this. Stygia is a place entirely devoid of the spirits that infuse the Primal Wild and the Shadow realm, where matter is souless and purely physical, nothing more than the basic it is composed of. When witnessing a mage using the Arcanum of Sprit to awaken an, object, few mages realise that the mage is actually calling to another being; most simply believe that the mage is using a part of their own soul to awaken the item. Even those that see this difference know that Stygia has no power over spirits. As such, it is difficult for these people to learn the Spirit Arcanum.

The realm of the Primal Wild is, as the name would suggest, a vast and uncharted wilderness. When a forest has been destroyed, the forest will be recreated in a more dramatic form than what was in the real world. Though the life forms appear the same, the scale is vastly different. Trees seem far taller, beasts much larger, terrain more treacherous and weather more powerful. The realm is not exactly hostile to humanity, but discourages humanity’s complex thoughts; here, the raw emotion of the animals and the strange, linear intelligences of the spirits hold sway. All material wildernesses are reflected in the Primal Wild, but none on such vast scales as the jungles and the oceans.

The jungles of the Primal Wild are perhaps the most powerful representation of Planetary ecosystems.Despite their infinite variety and majesty, their equivalents in the Material Realm do not come close to comparing. For each subspecies of creature the Material realm has to offer, the jungle of the Primal Wild vomits forth one hundred, each more bizarre to the human onlooker than the last. These denizens of the jungle all want their toll in blood, even the trees and vines, for blood is the currency of the Primal Wild’s jungles; all have their own means of obtaining it. All creatures are enhanced beyond the limits of their material realm counterparts; predators are stronger and deadlier, prey are faster and more numerous. Visitors to the jungle often experience an extremely heightened sense of fear and paranoia whenever they entered, for the spirit of the Primal Wild influences everyone, but it also would enhance lust and passion, because there is always two sides of the coin.

The gross expression of the Primal Wild. The Primal Wild swarms with life of all kinds. Everywhere one goes, animals and plants abound, all overgrown and accentuated to the bitter extreme. The power of life in the realm is so great that even severed limbs grow back in a week. This great vitality of the realm is so powerful that it reaches across the Abyss into the Material World and becomes the Arcanum of Life. Those who master this Arcanum gain power over animals, plants, and other life forms, healing, shapeshifting, and the body.

The subtle expression of the Primal Wild. The realm of the Primal Wild is alive, and not merely in a metaphorical sense. The vast wildernesses of the realm crawl with as many spirits as they do creatures, from the tiniest mites that live amongst the insects to the great gods of storm and earth that battle for supremacy in their domains. It is surmised that the realm itself is a spirit of incalculable power. The ephemeral resonance of untold myriads of spirits leaks across the Abyss and earths itself in the Material Realm as the Arcanum of Spirit. Mastery of this Arcanum allows a mage to commune with, summon, and command spirits, as well as manipulate Essence.

The Primal Wild is a place of instinct and tangled emotions, passion and fury driving inhabitant and visitor alike into a bestial frenzy. Something in the realm inflames the deeper urges of the mind, ordinarily buried beneath layers of rational thought, and compels those who linger there to surrender to their emotional urges. In this soup of instinct and fury and passion, there is little room for the higher thinking and reason that the Arcanum of Mind manipulates. The restraint and calculation that rationality gives are alien to this realm of beasts and can prove fatal. For this reason, the Arcanum of Mind is weaker in the hands of a mage in this realm.