The Planes of Existence: A Never-Ending Spiral of Creation and Destruction

“In this boundless universe, the machinery of existence is fuelled by a fount of creation, a stream of life, and a bottomless well of terminal destruction.”

The universe in question contains three planes; Ethereal, Terrestrial, and Abyssal.

The Ethereal Plane is the source of all life, spirits and magical energy, and is the dwelling place of gods who concern themselves with the practices of creation. It is an endless expanse, the boundaries of which are only defined by strength of it's dwellers.

The Abyssal Plane is the final destination of those spirits, the force that draws magical energy from the Ethereal Plane, and is the dwelling of gods who concern themselves with destruction. It is a finite place that expands and contracts, pulsing with life and death.

The Terrestrial Plane is the intersection between the two. The proving ground of spirits given form, the land that spirits are born into and dies out of, and is the dwelling of gods who concern themselves with the intersection of the other two. It is a place which scales to the depths of it's contents, an endless well that narrows the deeper you go.

“The concepts of good and evil are intrinsically imaginary, constructs assembled by the mind. They are meaningless within the scope of nature alone. But curiously; such artificial constructs are born from the bond of natural form, and forceful will of spirit.”

While magic is fuelled by the movement of energy through the planes, the catalysts it flows through and the objects it affects have two distinct, completely opposite types.

Natural things are evolved or grown or formed naturally. The lay of the land, trees, natural animals, natural elements, almost always fit into this category. When something is given form by a natural process, when it happens organically without the intentional modification of an actor, it's natural.

Artificial things are those created or built by the will of spirit. Structures, machinery, dolls, golems, currency, magically enhanced anything, tools, any kind of constructed or built thing falls into this type. When something is intentionally made by something else, and not just a consequence of the usual flow of nature, it's considered artificial.

These are of course, rather loose definitions. Something can be a bit of both, or more leaning towards one or the other. However, when the two interact, there is almost always a conflict of interests.

“There appears to be no limit, nor requirements, nor boundaries of this energy. It simply seems to exist as any other part of the workings of the universe, a function of it's nature as fundamental and accessible as any other.”

The universe runs on this mechanism, the energy that flows from the Ethereal Plane towards the Terrestrial Plane acting as the cause of magic, anode and cathodes, respectively. Using magic is the redirection or manipulation of the natural flow of energy. Storing it, moving it, changing it's flow, or using it to exert another kind of force are all viable uses of magic.

Both living beings and machines are capable of manipulating the flow of magic energy with equal potency, though some may have the belief that only one type of thing has any right or any capacity to, the truth is that magic is simply a kind of force of the universe like any other, but a very flexible one.

This very flexible energy can be used to accomplish any number of feats. From the mundane of warming one's hands, to jumping hundreds of feet (and living), to the formation of whole worlds, real and imaginary. Physical forces of course also exist, but the use of magic - intentional or not - allows imbuement and amplification of those abilities. For some, it takes years of training, and others may find the use of such force intuitive. Even simple machines and animals may be capable of incredible and surprising acts using the energies.