Polasenok - The Universal Order
The Polasenok, or the Universal Order, is the officially recognized cosmological system in the Empire. It refers to how the known and unknown worlds are organized into planes, as well as how they operate with one another. It is the prime cosmological model in Nedia, being born of the The Dying Birth creation myth. Importantly, it is officially recognized by the Ethelan Empire, influencing Imperial policy at the highest levels.
Organization
The Polasenok is largely but not perfectly organized into two zones: the Shattered Planes and the Astral Realms, separated by the expansive Haavaiatus Sea.
The Shattered Planes
The Shattered Planes comprises the three Physical Planes of Variomont, Keivilu, and Nedia, as well as the Elemental Planes. They are planes out of phase with one another, separated by the Merikesken Plane (called the Ethereal Plane in commonspeak). They are called Shattered as they were once one harmonious material plane called Udista. According to the Dying Birth myth, Udista was first created by the Great Dragons, the Solwoln, as a nexus by which the beings of the Astral Realms (see below) could meet and interact with one another. After the Great Inundation, Udista was shattered, creating the Planes that are known today.
The Planes are governed by the four elements that are ranked within a hierarchy of mass: Earth, Water, Fire, then Air, that each belong to their own space of the Merikesken. The Vakish Powers of Earth and Water, being the lowest, are seen as orderly and stable. They confine and govern the Variomont, called Gloomhollow in commonspeak. The Kevitic Powers of Fire and Air are chaotic and unpredictable, and surround and influence the Keivilu, called the Feyrealm in commonspeak. Nedia, resting in the centre of all planes, is equally influenced and governed by all four elements.
The Powers also correspond to other aspects of life (respectively): the seasons (Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall), the Downfalls (Sloth, Greed, Wrath, Mania), the Projections (Stability, Mindfulness, Joy, Love), the stages of life (Old Age, Adulthood, Youth, and Infancy), the Directions (South, West, East, North), the Aspects of Mortality (Body, Mind, Soul, Spirit), and other such tetrachotomies.
Everything in the Shattered Planes contains the four elements in various compositions, but nothing is an element in its purest form. The pure elements are confined to their respective locales within the Merikesken Plane, sometimes referred to as the Elemental Planes. In this way, everything in the Planes is connected to the Elemental World and must obey it's hierarchical structure, depending on how much or little of each element is within. For example, the earth that is below the sea is the closest to pure Earth, as it holds itself below the water, whereas earth on land must contain higher amounts of Fire and Air in order for it to be above the Water of the sea. Alternatively, water in the clouds contains large amounts of Air. As clouds get thicker, they become purer and purer Water and, as such, fall to their rightful place below the Air.
The Astral Realms
Nedia and the Shattered Planes exist within, or at the centre of, the Astral Realms. These Realms are labelled as being High or Low, associated with the Elemental Powers depending on their chaotic or ordered natures. Critically, the Astral Realms are not material, and the connection to the elements is purely symbolic. The High Realms (such as the Deep Wood of Andulra and the Dapfoth Wilderlands), being chaotic, are correlated to the Kevitic powers of Fire and Air. The Low Realms like the Kolaluthaenut or the Pits of Akkolorn are linked to the Vakish powers of Earth and Water in their orderliness.
The Haavaiatus Sea
The Realms are kept apart from one another (and, importantly, from the Shattered Planes) by the nebulous Haavaiatus Sea. This "Sea" is the vast expanse beyond the sky, where stars twinkle and planets wander. Beings of the Realms cannot directly cross the Sea; as taught by the Dying Birth, the Sea drains a being's life essence proportional to its power and lifespan. The creations of these beings on the other hand (such as angels, minor demons, minions, etc.) can travel to and fro, albeit at the cost of some of their life force. Furthermore, particularly powerful beings can project their influence across the Sea into the Shattered Planes by way of material manifestations, as was the original intent of Udista. The same cannot be said for the Astral Realms, as there are no such elemental components with which to create manifestations.
Alongside, and indeed the reason for taking the life essence from all beings that enter it, the Haavaiatus Sea acts as the font of all energy in the universe, as revealed by the Hudrefna developed by the Royal Academy. Much as fresh water rises from the oceans and precipitates upon the land, providing nourishing life to all creatures, the energy of this vast space "rises" from it and settles upon the Realms and Planes. In doing so, it provides the required energy that gives medaphysical sustenance and connects all things. Mortals and immortal beings alike can harness the precipitation from the Haavaiatus Sea to their desired ends to varying degrees of success in what is commonly called magic. Some theories posit that the Sea and its precipitation acts as a conduit for the Great Duality.
The Great Duality
Similar to how the Elements govern Nedia, the Great Duality governs the entirety of the Polasenok. The Great Duality is the divide between Good and Evil forces within the universe. It encompasses all things. Unlike the elements, however, that each have their own locales within the Shattered Planes, the Great Duality permeates into and throughout all aspects of the universe. It exists insofar as a creature understands its existence. That is to say, the Great Duality does not exist in a plane and govern any “lesser plane” to it, but it exists in every plane as an inner distinction within beings that can understand it.
In this sense, a creature may be chaotic or lawful, but not necessarily be under the jurisdiction of the Great Duality if it cannot conceive of good and evil. At the same time, a being may have full understanding of the Great Duality and, as such, is not necessarily bound to its assignment besides by its own convictions. A Devil, traditionally being Evil, may in fact become Good, as it is not governed externally but internally by the Great Duality.
However, for some beings, the Great Duality is static, often associated with lifespan. Mortals tend to have little trouble fluidly moving around the Great Duality within its lifetime, whereas longer-living mortals (such as Elves and Dwarves) and especially immortal beings have great difficulty, finding themselves stuck in one spot or another due to the experience of existence, and convictions to past decisions and morals.
The beings of the High and Low Realms are in a constant battle for control of the Shattered Planes. In this battle, the High and Low Realms work together with or wage war against each other depending on their moral alignment within the Great Duality. For example, a Lawful Devil of the Pitts of Akkolorn in the Low Realms may work alongside a Chaotic Spirit from the Deep Woods of Andulrain in order to take control of a state that follows a Lawful Deity or form a revolutionary cult against a religion that worships a Chaotic Demon of the Dapfoth Wilderlands. The mortals in the Shattered Planes are the most capable of choosing the path of Law, Chaos, or Neutrality depending on their own personal convictions and allegiances.
The Great Duality is, in Aethanist circles, associated with the gods Aethan and Aefan (Good and Evil respectively). In this case, it is not just Good and Evil that influence a beings heart and mind and in which a being can choose to participate, but exactly the two Deities themselves. Aethanists further associate the Great Duality and their Deities with the Solwoln of the Dying Birth myth mentioned above.
Participation in the Universal Order
Participation in the Universal Order is better understood not as a universal model, but on a case-by-case basis. In general, most beings understand the world in a cyclical manner. Like the coming and going of the seasons and the tides, these beings understand the cycles of history and life in the same way; cycles between lawfulness and chaos, good and evil. Like the tides, Good comes in and goes out. Like the seasons, chaos flourishes and then fades into lawfulness. Some beings that understand life this way take an active approach, trying to bring about the tide or the summer in whatever stage of life they find themselves in, whereas others take on a passive approach, accepting that they may live a lawful life in a chaotic historical moment. Notably, many adherents to the Luthaenoism of the Maletsok Islands follow this understanding of a cyclically passive life.
Other beings, however, take on a progressive approach to history. As a building may grow into a community, and a community into a village, some see history in the same way, as the growth and advancement of certain stories, perspectives, and alignments. Life, then, is seen as a competition between religions, cultures, societies, alignments, etc. Notable examples of this are the Dailists of the Belsumese Empire, the Dark Elves of the Melarond Kingdom, and the Aethanists of the Ethelan Empire.
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