World Axis cosmology

The World Axis is cosmological model used prior to the Sundering. This structure, which resembles a sphere split into two axes, hence the name, resulted from the Spellplague and its effects upon the local multiverse, which included the untethering of the astral dominions and the creation (or possible return) of the Elemental Chaos. As a result of the changes wrought by the disaster, the formerly prominent World Tree model was abandoned in favor of the World Axis, which most scholars believe more accurately reflects the current structure of the multiverse. ,

Basic Structure
The World Axis is composed primarily of the fundamental and parallel planes. "Above" and "below," the fundamental planes encircle the rest of the cosmology, forming hemispheres in the conceptual model, though since both the Astral Sea and the Elemental Chaos are infinite in size, this is mostly metaphorical. To the "left" and the "right" of the Prime Material Plane, which lies at the center of this cosmology, sit the parallel planes, which float in sync with the Prime. Together these planes form the World Axis, other planes lying outside of the model and having an indistinct cosmological placement.

The World Axis is similar in many ways to the World Tree that came before it. Like the World Tree, the World Axis model places the astral dominions "above" the Prime while placing the elemental and energy planes, the precursors of the Elemental Chaos, "below." Likewise, the Plane of Shadow, the Shadowfell's precedent, existed in close synch with the Prime.

However, differences do exist. While the astral dominions, elemental planes, and energy planes were all formerly bound together in a tree-like structure, the Spellplague destroyed these bonds, causing the astral dominions to float freely through the Astral Sea. Similarly, the Spellplague caused the elemental and energy planes to fall into one another, causing them to become one indistinct, ever-changing plane. The Shadowfell was also created out of the Plane of Shadow, incorporating into it some of the Negative Energy Plane's energy, and the Feywild, nearly forgotten for millennia, came back into synch with the Prime, regaining its place as a parallel plane.

Prime Material Plane
Also called the natural world, mortal world, or simply the Prime, this plane lies at the center of the World Axis. While changed, the Prime continues to exist in spite of the changes wrought by the Spellplague, stable and at the center of the vast axes that bind the planes together. The Prime is where Toril and its inhabitants are located and remains the primary focus of the gods. The Prime has no single dominant force, unlike most planes, and is connected to the other planes through the Shadowfell and, to a lesser extent, the Astral Sea and Elemental Chaos.

Fundamental Planes
Surrounding the Prime and the parallel planes are the two fundamental planes: the Astral Sea and the Elemental Chaos. The fundamental planes, according to common theory, are the basis from which all the other planes, including the Prime and its echoes, were formed. Whether or not this is true is unsure and until the Spellplague, the Elemental Chaos is not believed to have existed, or at least not since the splitting of Abeir-Toril into two worlds.

The fundamental planes are also the homes of the astral dominions and elemental realms, smaller planes within the Astral Sea and Elemental Chaos. Only a few of these are known to the inhabitants of Toril, however, and it is believed that if one traveled far enough through the infinite spaces of the fundamental planes it might be possible to locate the dominions and realms of entirely different pantheons worshiped by beings from other material planes, though such a journey would be unimaginably lengthy.

The two fundamental planes are as follows:


 * The Astral Sea
 * The Astral Sea is a great silvery void that contains the homes of the gods and which is considered the realm of pure thought and creativity, where thoughts and feelings become reality, if only for a moment. It is through this power that gods shape the cosmos according to their will and the astral dominions are forged.


 * The Elemental Chaos
 * Nonexistent before the Spellplague, or at least not since the sundering of Abeir-Toril, the Elemental Chaos is a vast and infinite sea of tempestuous matter and energy in which the cycle of creation and destruction continues without end. It is from the essence of the chaos that the world was first formed, tempered though it was by the divine essences of the Astral Sea.

Astral Dominions
Within the Astral Sea lay the astral dominions, planes separate and unique from the surrounding fundamental plane but which owe their existence to it. Formed from the will of the Astral Sea's inhabitants the astral dominions were once linked into an intricate network within the World Tree. As a result of the Spellplague, the formerly bound planes now drift freely in the Astral Sea.

There are many dominions within the Astral Sea, the known ones being as follow.


 * Arvandor
 * Arvandor is the home of the elven pantheon, the gnomish pantheon, and several archfey. Corellon rules over this good plane with his wife, the goddess Angharradh, while Garl Glittergold holds his own, somewhat independent court.


 * Banehold
 * Banehold is the home of the Black Lord Bane, who rules from his keep the Black Bastion, as well as the gods who owe their fealty to him. The evil plane is surrounded by outlying wastelands that serve as a warning to these subjugated deities.


 * Celestia
 * Celestia is an enormous mountain that contains three smaller peaks. The True Court is a city near the top of the mountain, from which Torm rules the lawful good plane alongside Ilmater and Bahamut.


 * Cynosure
 * Cynosure is a neutral meeting place of the gods and is usually closed and uninhabited. Cynosure is merely a stately meeting chamber full of high pillars and decorated with portraits of gods and goddesses both living and dead.


 * The Deep Wilds
 * The Deep Wilds is the home of Silvanus and his divine servants. The Deep Wilds are a vast expanse of untamed and wild wilderness, with no strong ties to any alignment but firm connections to several elemental realms.


 * The Demonweb Pits
 * The Demonweb Pits is Lolth’s domain and a former layer of the Abyss. This strongly chaotic evil plane is an immense and dark dominion of woven planar matter, at the center of which sits Lolth’s arachnid-shaped iron fortress.


 * The Dismal Caverns
 * The Dismal Caverns are a huge subterranean maze of natural caverns, ruled over by the solitary god Ghaunadaur. Other powerful entities, many aberrations touched by the Far Realm, also live there, dwelling in the vast darkness that fills the plane.


 * Dwarfhome
 * Dwarfhome is the home of the dwarven deities and their worshipers, who dwell underneath massive mountainous crags teeming with life. At the heart of Dwarfhome is the great hall called Erackinor, the residence of Moradin and his wife Berronar.


 * Eternal Sun
 * Eternal Sun is the dominion of Amaunator, Keeper of the Golden Sun, who shares the realm with Waukeen and his exarch, Siamorphe. Amaunator makes his home in the Palace of the Four Suns, the central citadel of a golden city which is located amid shining, thriving lands and seas.


 * The Fugue Plane
 * The Fugue Plane is a flat and featureless plane with a ground of silvery mist. It is here that the god Kelemvor judges the dead, who arrive through the Shadowfell, either releasing them to the blessings of their god or sentencing them to eternal punishment.


 * Gates of the Moon
 * Gates of the Moon consists of rocky islands that float on and above a silvery sea, over which the moon waxes and wanes constantly. It is here that the chaotic good greater goddesses Selûne and Sune both make their home, along with the goddess Tymora.


 * Green Fields
 * Green Fields is a place of rest, of lush valleys and hills ruled over by the Earthmother Chauntea. The halfling pantheon also resides here, moving from place to place like their mortal worshipers.


 * House of Knowledge
 * The House of Knowledge consists of an ancient and tamed wood of giant oak trees and clear and fresh lakes and springs. A series of buildings throughout the dominion called the Library of All Knowledge is said to contain all the secrets of the multiverse.


 * The Nine Hells
 * The Nine Hells, or Baator as its denizens call it, is the home of devils and is ruled by Asmodeus, a former god-turned-archdevil-turned-god-again who resides in Malsheem, the Citadel of Hell. Eight other archdevils rule eight other layers of the lawful evil dominion as vassals of Asmodeus.


 * Nishrek
 * Nishrek is home to the orc pantheon, ruled over by the savage god Gruumsh. This chaotic evil plane resembles a natural setting ravaged by eternal war, filled with of scorching deserts, jagged badlands, and dense and tangled forests, with black seas and rivers.


 * The Supreme Throne
 * The Supreme Throne is Cyric’s dominion but it is also a prison for the Prince of Lies, whose murder of Mystra has resulted in his internment for several centuries to come. The dominion has been sealed off by the other gods, and none can enter nor can any leave.


 * Towers of Night
 * Towers of Night is the largest of the astral dominions, a vast and dark wasteland comprised of mountainous regions, deserts of black sand, and malevolent seas, rivers, forests, and bogs. Ruling over this plane is the greater goddess Shar, who shares the neutral evil dominion with her servants Sseth, Talona, and Zehir.


 * Tu'Narath
 * Unlike the divine dominions where the gods reside Tu'Narath is a realm shaped by mortal minds, specifically those of the githyanki. Within the great metropolis carved from the corpse of a forgotten god the githyanki are ruled over by their lich-queen Vlaakith, who constantly plots for the conquest of the other planes and who holds de facto control of the other nominally independent githyanki settlements.


 * Warrior's Rest
 * Warrior’s Rest is the dominion of Tempus, god of war and his nature shapes the plane into a landscape nearly as chaotic and unpredictable as the Elemental Chaos, constantly changing. The souls of warriors who worshiped Tempus or other human war deities live here, always waging wars dying again and again in endless battle only to rise again while the victorious celebrate in the many halls that dot the landscape.

Elemental Realms
When the elemental and energy planes collided to form, or possibly reform, the Elemental Chaos most of them were lost, along with the other planes that fell into the mix, such as Limbo or Jotunheim. However, within the Chaos those beings strong enough and powerful enough to shape the materials around them were able to create new planes or preserve parts of old ones, either of which became known as elemental realms. Here numerous elemental creatures reside, alongside the mighty primordials who first created the planes alongside the gods.

The known elemental realms are listed below.


 * The Abyss
 * The Abyss is the home of demons and is ruled over by none, though several of the powerful demon lords each claim control. A multi-layered pit, the Abyss lies at the very "bottom" of the Elemental Chaos, waiting to draw in and ensnare any who come too close.


 * The City of Brass
 * The City of Brass is the home of the efreeti, fire genies who long ago forged this city, which is believed the oldest in all the planes. Though efreeti are known for their wars against other elementals, the City of Brass is best known as the center of interplanar trade.


 * Cresting Spires
 * Dominated by the primordial Istishia, the Cresting Spires are a plane dominated by water.


 * Fimbulwinter
 * Forged by the titan Thrym, this plane is covered in ice.


 * Hidden Realm
 * The most powerful of the titans, Annam, rules this mysterious realm.


 * Muspelheim
 * Ruled over by the titan Surtr, Muspelheim is dominated by a volcanic landscape.


 * Root Hold
 * Dominated by Grumbar, the primordial lord of the earth element, Root Hold is a series of vast subterranean halls with strong connections to the Dismal Caverns and Dwarfhome.


 * Sky Home
 * A realm ruled over by the primordial Akadi and dominated by rolling clouds and dark storms. Sky Home has links to the plane of Arvandor.


 * Steading
 * This realm resembles a landscape of rolling hills and is dominated by the titan Grolantor.


 * Throator
 * A plane of storms this plane is ruled over by the titan Memnor.


 * The Undying Pyre
 * The Undying Pyre is a fiery plane of thick smoke and mighty flames, ruled over by the strongest of the primordial lords, Kossuth.


 * Zerthadlun
 * Zerthadlun is a realm shaped by the minds and will of the githzerai, mortals who have taken residence in the Elemental Chaos in order to study the entropy that fills it. Through constant diligence and monastic ritual the githzerai maintain their realm, in spite of the chaos that threatens to engulf it.

Parallel Planes
Parallel planes are strange reflections of the Prime, formed by the will of the primordials in the age of creation who gathered what they considered to be imperfections of the Prime and created new planes from them. Parallel planes are the closest of the planes to the Prime and resemble it geographically, though they are very distinct in their own manner.

The parallel planes are:


 * The Feywild
 * A vibrant twin of the Prime, the Feywild is the home of the fey and is filled with vitality and powerful arcane magic.


 * The Shadowfell
 * A dark and twisted echo of the Prime formed by Shar from the Plane of Shadow and part of the Negative Energy Plane, the Shadowfell is the home of shadow creatures as well as much of the undead that fill the planes.

Transitive Planes
These planes have little in common, except for their most common use: getting from one plane to another. A great number of spells that allow travel from one plane to another briefly send travelers through one of the transitive planes before they reach their destination. Since the Spellplague the use of the term transitive plane has fallen out of disfavor, though the name's meaning still applies.


 * Astral Sea
 * The Astral Sea serves as a transitive plane between the astral dominions, much as it did prior to the Spellplague, though now the dominions drift freely.


 * Elemental Chaos
 * Similarly, the Elemental Chaos allows travel between the elemental realms.


 * Shadowfell
 * The Shadowfell, in addition to serving as a strange and dark echo of the Prime also is a stop for many planar travelers. Most commonly this purpose is served for the recently dead, who pass through the Shadowfell on their way to judgment in the Fugue Plane.