Cosmology of Iona

The Tapestry

Encompassing all things that are, the Tapestry sits at the center of reality, a point of existence surrounded by the infinite non-existence, the Yawning Night. Varied in their manifestations, the countless Strands which make up the Tapestry exist as physical realms, personified deities, and sources of vast power. Some Strands which manifest a God, fight to defend themselves and their neighbors from Voidspawn; scions of the Yawning Night. Others plot, scheme, and go to war with each other, seeking to pillage the vital energy and power from other Strands to empower themselves. In this state of perpetual flux, growth, and decay, the Tapestry sways in the Yawning Night.

Iona

Infinite in their variation, the Strands of the Tapestry nonetheless can be categorized, and rarest among them are the Strands of Life, wells of unlimited power like Iona. In the distant past, Iona was plundered for many centuries by her neighboring Strands, who greedily devoured her energy and, in doing so, threatened the continuance of the mortal life on the Strand. To combat this threat, the Undying Emperor united eleven nearby Strands into the Imperial Pantheon; pledged to protect each other, the Gods of the Pantheon are empowered by worship from the mortals of Iona, who channel the energy of the Strand of Life to her neighbors with their devotion.

The Imperial Pantheon

Formerly eleven warring neighbors, the members of the Imperial Pantheon constitute an uneasy alliance between bitter foes, more than a band of companions. Nonetheless, they cooperate to maintain the Divine Barrier, which insulates Iona from the rest of the Tapestry, and the rest of the Pantheon Strands from the Yawning Night.

Outside Deities

Other Gods abound in the Tapestry, and their worship is neither sanctioned nor forbidden by the Empire. In some places, especially those devoted to Iona, such as Anderral, worship of other deities is frowned on whether or not they are members of the Imperial Pantheon.

The Yawning Night

Extending into the 9 Dimensions of Madness, the Yawning Night engulfs the Tapestry entirely, and its pull is omnipresent. Its influence is felt most directly through the Voidspawn, entities much like the Gods, spawned from the Dimensions of Madness in the Infinite Non-Existence. Notable among them is Ythrak, one of the members of the Imperial Pantheon.