Cosmology of The Realm
Heavily inspired from Ehdrigor by Allen Turner.
Sometimes conflicts in the Realm have less to do with misunderstanding and war between the clans and instead are rooted in the very nature of a magical and sentient land.
In the Realm all of existence is thought of as the Cloth of Life. Thing, a name for the unknowable primal creative energy, dreamed into existence the Weavers, and the Weavers weave the strands of fate that lead us all to our fortune or doom. Sometimes great heroes and thinkers can influence the Cloth of Life or even change or cut the weft and warp of the Cloth itself.
However, all of this noisy and chaotic weaving and changing and cutting angers what lies in between and under the threads of the cloth, what lies in the Quiet, the original nothingness from which life sprang. What rests in the Quiet despises being roused from its infinite slumber and seeks to end all life and bring things back to the nothingness it knew before the Cloth of Life came into being.
The Sorrows
What lies in the Quiet are often called Sorrows; for the actions they take to quiet all of noisy chaotic life, brings sorrow to the living. Though initially without physical form, these malevolent Sorrows can be devastating as they quietly creep and manifest themselves into all aspects of life.
A Sorrow is often called a Shadow when it begins to rule a House. Such as, “A Shadow has fallen upon the House of Drake after a century of war. Their hearts seem now to be ruled more by suspicion than by love.”
A Sorrow is often called a Shiver when it begins to control a place in the world and threaten things nearby, such as “The Arkan Hills hold a Shiver these days. The hill-paths are now dark and noisome and travellers would rather not speak of things experienced there!”
A Sorrow is often called a Horror when it becomes physically manifest and threatening. “A Horror now haunts Tacheanel Bridge. It takes the form of a monstrous spider thing… that talks!”
The Graces
Thing has placed a multitude of things in the world to aid the people in finding balance and re-forging their wrecked world. Not the least of these are the Graces who stand against the Sorrows and inspire people towards greatness. The Graces often speak to denizens of the Realm in dreams. Some say the eord-sigils themselves are Graces that appear in the form of dream-animals. Some also say the Graces occasionally take human form and lead heroes to great and courageous acts of kindness of selflessness. And some say that it was from the Graces that the denizens of the Realm came to know of the four selves.
The Four Selves and Wraiths:
Each and every being in the world possesses fours selves. In fact every individual stick, stone and leaf and every grouping of things on Earth has four selves. And any such grouping of like things also possesses four selves and thereby posseses a wraith. The forest has a wraith. The Mountain has a wraith as well. Those stones on the hill that give us a feeling of being protected here have a wraith, as does the river itself and that ancient cemetery beyond it. Even those four weather-beaten farmhouses together hold a wraith as does each sagging building and every family inside them. Finally, the world itself possesses a wraith and four selves.
Here is what the Wise Ones of Igal call the four selves:
Self of Flesh - The Body - Element of Air
Self of Flow - Blood/Movement/Fate - Element of Water
Self of Intent - The Spirit & The Mind - Element of Air
Self of Being - The Soul - The Fire Eternal
Weakening the Self of Flesh can lead to death.
Weakening the Self of Flow leads to disease, immobility or loss of personal influence.
Weakening the Self of Spirit leads to fear, cruelty, selfishness and greed.
Weakening the Self of Being leads to loss of sentience, consciousness itself.
The sorrows work to weaken and destroy these selves while the teachings of the Graces work to restore and fortify them. Think about what mythological narratives work to drive the Houses apart. How do Sorrows influence House rivalries? How do they influence our characters in the Realm?