The Outer Planes

Also known as the "Chaos Realm," or most frequently "The Dream," the Outer Planes are a space without space, existing completely outside of Munda--the Mortal Plane. The Dream is of no fixed dimensions, infinitely alterable. It follows no logic except for this: the strongest mental effort prevails. Matter, Shape, every aspect of existence is created and maintained through expenditures of willpower from sentient spirits. As such, the Chaos Realm has sub-divided into regions dominated and shaped by factions of like-minded spirits, working in concert to shape it to their liking. These regions of influence are called Planes.

The Outer Planes are separated from Munda by a barrier which prevents any Outsiders from crossing through without some intercession by those who live upon the Mortal Plane. As such few mortals ever have much interaction with these Planes, except in the form of their dreams. The vast majority of these dreams are fleeting and incomprehensible--just one more vision amongst those conjured naturally during sleep. It normally takes years of training and meditation to differentiate Dreams of the Outer Planes from mundane dreams. Some, however, are born with a natural affinity for the Dream which grants them much more frequent glimpses into the workings of the Chaos Realm. At times, these visions even allow them to scry on events within Munda from the past, present, or future.

Physics in the Chaos Realms
Collectively referred to as 'Outsiders,' the denizens of the Outer Planes do not have corporeal forms in the same way mortals do. They are entities of pure spirit, shaped by an expression of their own will. They alter not only their own shape, but the shape of their surroundings by acting directly upon them with exertions of Willpower, or psychic energies. This ability to warp reality is limited only by the Outsider's mental strength; its creations may not follow any natural laws as we know them, nor even a sense of logic. Due to this, the Chaos Realm is in a state of more or less constant flux, where laws and realities change as a matter of course. Over time, it has resolved into a structure of 'Planes'--spheres of influence maintained by like-minded Outsiders, usually headed by an extremely powerful spirit of god-like potential. These great powers include those known to the mortal races as the Pantheon of Gods, as well as others who have not made themselves known to denizens of the Mortal Plane.

Each of these powerful beings maintains its own plane, adapted to suit its tastes, and peopled by lesser Outsiders who take on some of the mental burden of maintaining the Plane's integrity--as much as it is possible, anyway. The nature of free association within the Chaos Realm causes ever shifting points of contact and traversal between the planes, at such a rate that an inexperienced traveler might find themselves flitting from plane to plane without direction, lost on the ebbs of a metacosmic sea.

The Known Planes
The two Outer Planes most familiar to mortal scholars are the clinging remnants of The Fae, as well as the realms of Hell--the former for its numerous points of crossover, the latter for the frequency with which its denizens attempt to invade.

The Faewyrd
For untold aeons the greatest of these planes was what we now call The Faewyrd, a much larger and more potent place in those times. It was maintained by a triumvirate of great Powers: Caelius, a being of randomness and chance; The Strictum, not so much a personality as a schematic or logic-system; and the spirit of Munda itself, known to us variously as The World Tree or the Thousand-Skins, and whose name was granted to the Mortal Plane. Combined, they were able to create a Plane which distinguished itself not only in size but also in relative stability compared to the other Planes.

Much of the original Fae was consumed in a gambit by these three Powers to form a Plane separate and sacrosanct from the Outer Planes. After using the bulk of the plane to form the basis of Munda, what little remains of the Fae outside the Mortal Realm is but a shadow of its former self, left as a sort of external buffer zone between Munda and the rest of the Chaos Realm. Its ecology is wild and varied, grading from impossible technicolor forest realms to the sinister depths of The Underdark.

Since the Faewyrd served as the whole cloth from which the Mortal Plane was cut, the two planes have a symbiotic relationship not seen anywhere else amongst the Planes. Denizens of the Fae are allowed some latitude when it comes to interacting with the Mortal Plane, as they remain adherents of The World Tree, allied to its aims. The Fae is so closely twined with Munda, in fact, that it is possible for mortals to stumble into The Fae completely on accident, as uncommon as it may be. There are many wild tales of travelers who, through some arcane happenstance, find themselves lost to wander among the realms of the Faewyrd until--by skill or by luck--they find some way home.

Hell
Hell is the plane upon which devils and daemons make their homes. The devils, lawful in nature, live in infernal cities protected by bloodthirsty rank-and-file legions which live to serve the Archfiends under Ignotean, Prince of Hell. Their aim is to dominate and subjugate all of the other spirits of the Planes, uniting them under the heeled boot of Ignotean. They especially desire dominion over Munda, both for its unique status as a plane where consequence and permanency exist, and for the opportunity to finally and permanently overcome the World Tree by corrupting the shards of its spirit used to animate Mortal bodies. As such, the Legions of Hell have been relentless in their attempts to corrupt mortals and guide them into opening portals to the Outer Planes through which the Devils can invade.

Daemons, on the other hand, are nearly mindless expressions of violent, hateful Chaos. They carve their hives and lairs into the plane itself, driven only to kill and destroy anything within their reach. They are, on occasion, captured and enslaved by the Devils for use in the Legion--expendable shock troops with incredible destructive powers. They are not organized enough to arrange their own incursions to Munda, and as such are only ever unleashed upon the Mortal Plane as a consequence (intended or unintended) of Ignotean's machinations.

Other Planes
Except to those of deepest Arcane lore, little is known of the other Planes which fill the Dream. Each is peopled by its own Outsider spirits taking any conceivable form, varied in their strengths and potency. They are united mainly by their affinity for the features of the plane as sculpted by the most powerful of the spirits, colloquially called "gods." Each plane operates on its own internal logic and laws, at times completely at odds with those of its metacosmic neighbors.

Dreamers and The Dream
Most mortals only ever experience the Outer Planes briefly and incidentally through the form of Dreams. As mortal souls are splinters of the cosmic entity Munda (The World Tree), it is generally theorized that these brief mental excursions are a result of the unconscious spirit's connection to the metacosmos at large. Without training, one might never even realize that their Dream was anything different from the non-magical dreams of every other night. Most commonly, the connection to the Outer Planes lasts only moments, long enough for a flash of awareness before retreating into normal sleep.

Some, however, may either be born with a greater aptitude for their dreams to touch the Outer Planes, or train the ability within themselves. The results of this connection are often more unpredictable than they are enlightening. While one may see the doings of the Chaos Realm, their vision might also be reflected back upon the Mortal Plane, through the lens of Dream. On these occasions, the timelessness and lawlessness of the Outer Planes may cause the mortal to envision events which happened long ago, or even those which have yet to happen. The visions may be shrouded in metaphor, or even hypothetical in nature. Masters of Dreamlore claim there is an art to deciphering visions sent by The Dream, yet the results of such prophecy are often unreliable at best.