Cosmology

Of the cosmos as a whole, the average person knows little and cares to know even less. Scholars of cosmology learn most of what they know by sifting through fragmentary manuscripts copied from still older texts. If anyone has practical or first-hand knowledge of the boundaries of this world or what lies beyond it, they aren’t telling.

On a more practical level, most people can reliably name the five Realms of Energy and the five Forms of Matter that make up the world and all that is in it. The use of the word “realm” is not generally regarded as an indication of a physical place to which one could travel, though some of the more fanciful myths contradict this.

The Realms of Energy:

Light, from which comes life, healing, protection, daytime, and peace.
Fire, from which comes transformation, summer, truth, healing, and destruction.
Storm, from which comes freedom from bonds, spring and autumn, destruction, and chaos.
Shadow, from which comes fear, death, nighttime, and guile.
Ice, from which comes protection, preservation, winter, and imprisonment.

It is commonly known that Light opposes Storm and Shadow, Fire opposes Shadow and Ice, Storm opposes Ice and Light, Shadow opposes Light and Fire, and Ice opposes Fire and Storm. The Realms of Energy are the province of ritualists. Scribes and forge mages also draw upon the Realms in their arts, binding these powers into parchment, wood, or steel.

The Forms of Matter:

Aether, from which comes the sky, spiritual essence, thought, and breath.
Flesh, from which comes everything that creeps upon the earth, bone, growth, and strength.
Fluid, from which comes blood, life, the humours, and the sea.
Earth, from which comes the land itself, protection, strength, and shelter.
Dust, from which comes the Wasteland and dissolution.

It is commonly known that the Forms do not oppose one another, but build upon each other in combinations. Even Aether and Dust, which are as distant as Forms can be, create new things when combined, rather than ending in simultaneous negation. The Forms of Matter are the province of alchemists. Scribes and forge mages also draw upon the Forms in their arts, binding these materials into parchment, wood, or steel.

Mystic Materials

Five base materials hold a spark of the power of the Realms and the Forms. With an alembic, an alchemist can transmute one of these base materials to another type of base material, or refine base materials into higher forms. The base mystical materials are Amber, Black Pearl, Fire Coral, Ivory, and Thunderstruck Oak.

Affinities
Mystic Material	Realm	Forms
Amber	Ice	Flesh, Fluid
Black Pearl	Shadow	Dust, Fluid
Fire Coral	Fire	Earth, Fluid
Ivory	Light	Aether, Flesh
Thunderstruck Oak	Storm	Earth, Flesh

Religious Perspectives

The Church often speaks of the Redwood Throne as governing Creation from Heaven, but this is understood to mean that the Redwood Throne is omnipresent, not that it dwells outside of the earthly sphere. On the other hand, the Church teaches that there have been other worlds before this one. Those worlds are generally assumed to have ended with the Redwood Throne’s triumph, but the Church regards the specifics of those worlds’ fate as unknowable.

Each mystery cult speaks of an alignment with one or more Realms and one or more Forms. The meaning of these alignments and the veracity of these claims are entirely unknown to the average person.