The Spiral
The Netherese Plan for a New Reality
"The Weave was flawed. The Spiral was meant to replace it—not as a patchwork fix, but as a true evolution of magic and existence."
The Netherese Legacy: Architects of Magic
The Netherese were not just masters of magic—they were its pioneers and its innovators, pushing the very boundaries of what was possible with arcane power. They saw magic not as a tool for mere mortals to wield but as a living, breathing force that could be shaped and controlled to manipulate reality itself.
For centuries, the Netherese had worked alongside the Matron to craft the Weave, a vast network of arcane energies that bound the world together. However, over time, they began to realize the limitations of the Weave—it was a finite system, bound by rules and gods’ whims. The Weave was powerful, yes, but it had become a strangling force, its parameters confining the full potential of magic, capping the growth of mortals, and allowing only a select few to access its deepest wellsprings.
The Netherese understood that the Weave was a mere scrap of what magic could truly be—a system built by the gods and goddesses, constrained by their own powerful egos and fears. This was a reality where mortals could never reach their full potential. And so, they sought to revolutionize magic altogether—not as a simple tool, but as an inherent extension of existence itself.
What Was the Spiral?
The Spiral was the culmination of the Netherese's most daring and ambitious vision—a new reality of limitless magic, free from the constraints of the Weave. It was a self-repairing, indestructible lattice—a perfect structure designed not to limit magic, but to expand it infinitely.
Where the Weave acted as a celestial network, filtering and controlling access to magic, the Spiral sought to be boundless. It would be a reality where the very laws of existence were tied to unlimited potential. Mortals would no longer be confined by arbitrary spell levels or power ceilings. Instead, they could unlock powers beyond the gods, casting spells that could create or destroy worlds.
The Spiral as an Extension of Limitless Magic
The Netherese were not the first to recognize the potential of limitless magic. Even before they began their work, dragons and phoenixes had already demonstrated a form of magic that transcended mortal understanding. These ancient beings were born from the primordial forces of the world, their connection to magic being inherent and not dictated by the structured limitations that defined the Weave.
- Dragons, as the oldest and most powerful of creatures, had access to a type of magic that was not bound by the Weave or by any celestial oversight. They could bend the very fabric of reality, altering time, space, and energy with a mere thought. Their bloodlines held the key to untapped power—a form of magic so potent that it made even the gods nervous. Dragons had unfathomable power, but their abilities were limited by the restrictions of the Weave. While they could perform miraculous feats, they were unable to reach their true potential without the risk of destroying reality itself. The Spiral was created to unlock that potential—not just for the dragons, but for all mortals. The Spiral promised a world where dragons would no longer be confined by magical boundaries and where their true magic could be shared with others.
- Phoenixes, beings of rebirth and immortality, also possessed an ancient form of magic that tied them to the eternal cycles of life and death. Their power was limitless in its own right—capable of resurrecting the dead, reviving entire civilizations, and transforming the world with the sheer force of their flames. But like the dragons, their abilities were held in check by the Weave. The Spiral would be a way for the phoenixes to transcend those limits and unlock the true power of their flame, bringing their regenerative magic to all life, not just themselves.
Together, the dragons and the phoenixes represented a balance of power: the elemental force of destruction and creation embodied by the dragons, and the cycle of life carried by the phoenixes. The Spiral was meant to unify their magic and allow it to flow freely, so that their immense power could be harnessed not just by a select few, but by all who sought it.
The Netherese, recognizing that they alone could not achieve their vision of a limitless reality, sought to form an alliance with these ancient beings. They knew that the Spiral could not be completed by mortals alone—it needed the power of the dragons and the phoenixes to be realized fully. These powerful creatures, who had long understood the nature of limitless magic, were the key to unlocking the true potential of the Spiral.
The Vision of Shared Magic
The Spiral was not just an academic or philosophical pursuit; it was a shared dream of freedom and empowerment for all magical beings. The Netherese, alongside the dragons and the phoenixes, sought to tear down the walls that divided mortal magic from divine or cosmic magic. They saw the Spiral as the means to share their limitless magic with the rest of the world. If completed, the Spiral would allow anyone—be they human, elf, dwarf, or other—to access the kind of boundless magic that only gods and immortal beings had wielded before.
In this new reality, magic would be a universal language, open to all who were willing to learn and adapt. There would be no boundaries between the mortal and the immortal, the elemental and the arcane, the divine and the cosmic. The Spiral was a vision of empowerment: the promise that anyone could rise to the heights of power, free from the limitations imposed by the gods, devils, or any celestial force.
The Spiral and the Promise of Evolution
What the Netherese, dragons, and phoenixes envisioned was not just the transcendence of magic—it was the evolution of existence itself. The Spiral was not just about breaking free of magical limits; it was about breaking free of the limits of existence, the laws of nature, and even the very concept of time and space. The Spiral would open the doors to new possibilities, where reality itself could be reshaped, rewritten, and remade.
No longer would reality be constrained by a simple, linear progression of magic and power. The Spiral was meant to expand existence itself, creating new realms, new planes of existence, and new possibilities. The limitless magic of the Spiral could allow mortals to create their own destinies, reshape their fates, and even rewrite the laws of nature. The very concept of existence would evolve in ways no one could predict or control.
Thus, the Spiral was far more than just a magical system—it was the key to a new reality, a reality where mortals could surpass gods, where dragons and phoenixes could unlock their full potential, and where the Netherese could share their vision of limitless magic with the world.
The Cost of the Spiral
A universe without limits is a universe without control.
While the Spiral promised a world where magic would be unlimited—where mortals could rise to the level of gods, where the laws of nature could be rewritten, and where all creatures could unlock their fullest potential—it was not without grave consequences. The promise of boundless freedom and empowerment came with a chilling realization: a reality without limits could easily become a reality without stability, order, or balance.
The Question of Mortals Surpassing Gods
The gods themselves were not blind to the implications of the Spiral. If mortals could surpass the gods, what would become of the divine order? The gods, who had long held dominion over the fabric of existence, were not simply unwilling to relinquish their power—they feared the consequences of the Spiral breaking free of their control. They could not allow a force that would allow mortals to evolve beyond their divine reach. The Spiral represented a paradigm shift so profound that it threatened the very foundations of divine relevance.
For the gods, the Spiral was not just an evolution of magic; it was the unraveling of their dominance. In a world where mortals could wield limitless magic, where dragons could break free of the Weave's constraints, and where the phoenixes could reshape reality itself, what role would the gods play? Would they become obsolete? Would their influence, once absolute, be diminished?
The gods, in their paranoia, saw the Spiral not as an evolutionary leap for the world but as a catalyst for divine destruction. They feared that the weaving of magic without their control could lead to unpredictable consequences—chaos that would undermine not just their power, but the entire cosmic balance they upheld.
The Fear of Chaos
In a universe without boundaries, chaos would reign. The Spiral, though it promised limitless potential, also posed a significant risk: without control, magic could spiral out of the hands of mortals and unleash devastation. What would stop a mortal—empowered by the limitless magic of the Spiral—from unraveling existence itself? What would prevent the laws of nature from being re-written on a whim, creating endless conflict, disruption, and entropy?
If the Weave had been a force of order and balance (albeit flawed), the Spiral threatened to replace it with a system that was neither ordered nor controlled. The Spiral offered freedom without restraint, but in doing so, it removed any governing force that could prevent magic from growing unpredictably and potentially destroying reality as mortals knew it. It raised the chilling question: Was the Spiral truly an evolution, or was it simply the birth of a new kind of chaos—one that would fracture existence into countless uncontrollable fragments?
In the wrong hands, the Spiral could have become a weapon of absolute destruction—a source of infinite, uncontrollable power that could bring about the end of the world. And so, the gods saw the project not as a means to bring about a more enlightened existence, but as the beginning of the end, a Pandora’s box that would release chaos into the cosmos.
Why the Spiral Was Never Completed
Before the Netherese could finish their monumental work on the Spiral, disaster struck. They were not simply undone by time, nor were they victims of their own ambitions—they were hunted to extinction by those who feared the consequences of their magic.
The gods, who had once supported the Netherese’s early experiments, had come to see them as a threat too great to ignore. No longer could they afford to allow mortals to tamper with the very structure of magic itself. They feared the Spiral could make their rule irrelevant, their domains useless. If mortals no longer needed divine authority to access boundless power, the gods would lose their absolute control over the Weave—and with it, their place in the hierarchy of existence.
The gods, terrified of their diminishing influence, acted decisively. They struck down the Netherese, one by one, using their celestial might to erase their cities, burn their libraries, and shatter their research. They turned the Netherese cities into ruins, destroying the very foundations of the Spiral and scattering its fragments across the world. What remained of the Netherese's work—the pieces of the Spiral—was hidden, sealed away in forgotten ruins, buried beneath the ashes of time, or locked within ancient vaults guarded by both mortal and divine forces.
The Scattered Fragments
Though the gods believed they had eradicated the Spiral, they were mistaken. Fragments of the project survived—pieces of the Spiral scattered across the world, hidden in the most unlikely of places. These fragments contained the blueprints for the Spiral, or traces of its magic, which still echoed through the lands. In ruins, lost cities, and forgotten temples, remnants of the Netherese's great work could still be found, often lying dormant, awaiting discovery by those brave enough or foolish enough to seek them.
The fragments are sometimes found in places of great power—ancient magical sites, sacred tombs, or sites where the gods themselves once walked. Those who manage to uncover these secrets often find themselves touched by the raw magic of the Spiral, and while many cannot comprehend the full potential of what they have found, others begin to piece together the shattered vision of the Netherese. However, each discovery comes with its own cost. As mortals delve deeper into the fragments of the Spiral, they become aware of its true nature: a force of creation and destruction, of untapped power that can either save or destroy everything.
The cost of the Spiral is not just a loss of life or civilization—it is the balance that is lost when reality becomes unstable. Those who seek the Spiral's power risk becoming consumed by it, losing their humanity, or even unraveling the fabric of the universe with their own ambition.
The Legacy of the Spiral: Chaos or Evolution?
Ultimately, the question of whether the Spiral was an evolution of magic or a new kind of chaos remains unresolved. The Netherese believed they were ushering in a new age of boundless potential, where mortals could transcend their limitations and rewrite reality. But the gods saw it as the birth of a new entropy, one that threatened to consume everything in its path.
The Netherese were erased from history, but their vision—fragments of the Spiral—still exists in the world, waiting to be rediscovered. The gods, meanwhile, continue to guard their dominion over the Weave, fearful of any force that might challenge their control. The Spiral was never completed, and the legacy of its potential still lingers, hidden beneath the surface of the world, waiting for the day when someone might attempt to unlock its power once again.
But when that happens, will the world be ready to embrace the chaos it might bring? Or will it be the end of everything?
