The Five Dimensions
The First: Forwards/backwards, the x-axis. While the first inhabitants of the universe had no concept of this dimension, they had no knowledge of the others either. Parity was a later development, as was the need for verticality (ordered by gravity), but length was created fairly early on.
The Second: Left/right, the y-axis. The aforementioned parity. Became necessary after initial experiments with the mirror dimension.
The Third: Up/down, the z-axis. Developed upon widespread adoption of gravity and the resultant asymmetry. Widely regarded as an unnecessary nuisance.
The Fourth: Ana/kata, the α-axis. The spatial dimension invisible to mortals, by which one shifts from the Prime Material to the wider universe.
The Fifth: Before/after, the א-axis. Energy propagates along this axis. Is also invisible to mortals, as they see only a single point at a time, as opposed to higher beings who can view and travel along the whole axis. This is because consciousness is merely crystallized time. The Yith are the least beings manipulating this axis, and the most active.
Hot & Cold
Realms in the first ring have an opposite on the second ring, ordered by their position on the א-axis. This, is a high energy/low entropy realm opposed by a low energy/high entropy realm. Certain occultists overlay a female/male dimension on top of this, which is a bit contrived, but the kabbalistic implications check out.
The World-Rose
The World-Rose diagram below is a two-dimensional representation of the universe. It's a bit crap, but the least crap of all possible two-dimensional representations.
It is a flattened dodecahedron. Imagine the disc of the galaxy, and overlay the diagram on top.
Now stop imagining that because it's wrong.
Imagine a dodecahedron. Each face represents another realm, with a pentagonal pyramid pointing into the center. We'll talk about that later. Energy and matter propagates from face 1 to face 12, but only along the faces, interacting with the other dimensions as it goes.
Except there's a whole other spatial dimension you can't even see. Also time, which is kind of like a spatial dimension if you squint.
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| Image credit to Throne of Salt I'm telling you it makes perfect sense, just carry the ג and- |
1. The Beginning
The bubbling cauldron of creation at the center of the universe. The source of all energy and matter, the font from which everything emerges and is pushed out. Also known as The Big Bang, Sagittarius A, the supermassive black hole at the center of the galaxy, and Azathoth. If you go there it will eat you. And you will become a god. Kind of. I mean, you always were a god if you do it but mutter mutter wibbley wobbley mutter mutter timey wimey.
The astute among you may ask why a black hole is pushing matter out instead of in. mutter mutter fifth dimension mutter mutter crystallized time is indistinguishable from consciousness mutter mutter
12. The End
A freezing void, total stasis. The end of the universe. The Big Freeze.
Wait, if energy flows along the א-axis does that mean that opposed dimensions are the same places at different times? Yes. Kind of. Just have fun.
2. Limbo (CN)
A slippery and chaotic realm, liable to rip apart unprepared travelers, but can be shaped to the desire of strong wills. Pulsating asteroids carrying lost civilizations crash into soul-lumps regularly. Home to a handful of stable settlements, created and maintained by powerful intellects. A place to escape and hide from pursuit.
11. Mechanus (LN)
A hard-edged and strictly regulated place. Clockwork creatures run clockwork societies, their destinies long since foreseen. Don't do anything unpredictable. A place to create an unbreakable pact or seek knowledge on the hidden workings of the world.
3. Mount Celestia (LG)
The home of order and goodness, a mountain whose peak is always just beyond sight. Unsurprisingly tough to get into. If you can clear the bureaucracy and morality tests, or just sneak in, Mount Celestia makes brisk trade and maintains a powerful standing army.
10. The Abyss (CE)
An endlessly mutable, shifting nightmare land. The place is semi-sentient, and draws power from the suffering of sentient creatures. If you come to trade in souls, be brief; demons have no loyalty. A place to damn a prisoner, acquire forbidden items and knowledge, find some serious baddies.
4. Olympus (CG)
A realm dominated by the stories of heroism. Myths and legends repeat themselves here, subtly tweaked each time. You will be dragged into retellings of age-old tales. Come here to find heroic trials, face righteous foes and live freely.
9. Nine Hells (LE)
A thorned monument to cruelty. The sins have been numbered and the wicked named. Pacts with the devils will be honored, and their prices will be claimed. Every denizen of the Hells seeks to move down the Infernal hierarchy, no matter who must be destroyed. A place to escape the forces of good, discover inventive tortures and chain souls.
5. Hades (NE)
The domain of hopelessness, apathy and despair. Plains of ash, dim caverns and a constant, dull ache in your bones. If you can get out before becoming a permanent resident, you can forge powerful items from the despair here, and capture the souls of the wicked.
8. Elysium (NG)
Ultimate beauty and goodness. If you are worthy, a long afterlife of peace. You are not worthy. Elysium will reject you in due course. Before that, bottle and harvest whatever you can and sell it elsewhere.
6. Plane of Negative Energy
From whence the powers of undeath spring. Absolute cosmic suckiness, quickly draining the essence from anything living. Bring protection, prepare to find new breeds of abomination. A place to destroy potent undead permanently, craft weapons of mass destruction and court death itself.
7. Plane of Positive Energy
Overflowing with life-force. A swamp in endless summer, tumors soon develop without adequate protection. A constant experiment in new life forms, tweaked and recycled. A place to harness creative magic, seek the artifacts of creation and peer into the foundation of life itself.
The Center
But what, then is at the center of the dodecahedron, where the vertices of all realms meet? The City of Doors of course. The Prime Material is nearby. Just a few degrees kata of Sigil.
If you're facing an unstable portal, or make careless jump, roll a d12 to see which plane you end up in.
You can use the Rose diagram as a quick guide to travel between realms. For example, if you begin in Elysium, you're one jump away from Limbo, Mount Celestia, Arborea, and the Plane of Positive Energy.
If you're having trouble visualizing the planes think of a single planet, surrounded by asteroid belts, space stations and ships traveling between the realms. This is planetary romance, not hard sci-fi. So jump in a Spelljammer and have some planar adventures already!
The universe is also kind of like five intertwined toruses traveling towards entropy but mutter mutter recognize my genius mutter mutter.
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