Cosmology

From Darelth Wiki

Picture 3 nested spheres.

• The innermost sphere is the World of Darelth itself.
• The middle sphere is the celestial sphere, like the medieval and earlier cultures believed in. The sun, moon, and stars (all the heavens) are fixed to it.
• The outermost sphere is the elemental sphere. The elemental planes are fixed along the equator, and the two poles are the ethereal and shadow planes.
• Outside the sphere is the Void. Above the poles are the positive and negative energy planes.

The empty space between Darelth and the Celestial sphere is the Sky. It thins as you go away from the world, though it never becomes unbreathable, and thickens once again as you approach the Celestial Sphere. You can walk on the inside of the Celestial Sphere. The Sun and Moon are embedded half-way into the Celestial sphere (so half is outside, half inside), and they both turn. They also both describe paths through the Celestial Sphere, though the Moon always stays at least a certain distance from the Sun. The inside of the celestial sphere is studded with stars, and when the Sun or Moon approach, the stars flow harmlessly around it.

The empty space between the Celestial Sphere and the Elemental Sphere is the Astral "plane", or the Elemental Sky. Again, you can walk on the inside of the Elemental Sphere, and the outside of the Celestial one. The elemental, ethereal, and shadow planes are also embedded in the Elemental Sphere, rotating, with half inside and half outside. Each of those planes mirrors the terrain of Darelth. (The Sun and the Moon do too.)

The elemental planes move in equatorial paths/cycles, and control the seasons through some form of alignment with the Sun. Fire produces Summer, Earth produces Spring, Air produces Fall, and Water produces Winter. The Ethereal and Shadow don't move, and always remain directly on the line between the Positive and Negative planes. The Ethereal plane is directly beneath the Positive plane at the "north(?)" pole, while the Shadow plane is directly above the Negative plane at the "south" pole.