The Realms of Elementis

Introduction

The new Power in the centre of the Sable-Aurellis Inside, was Created on what started out as Inside Veil 100, on the Spring Solstice, SY118. By the end of the process, the Inside had expanded, so Elementis is now located in Veil 200. Its co-Creators are the “Four Sisters”, daughters of Gaia, the Aurellian Goddess of the Land. Each sister represents one of the four classical Western elements.

The designs related to each individual element were drawn at 90° distances around the metaphorical circumference of the Inside: Air – 0° (“east”); Fire – 90° (“south”); Water – 180° (“west”); and Earth 270° (“north”).

As well as the Sisters themselves and their mother, a number of other Aurellian Gods were present at the Creation, as well as senior representatives from Sable. Some of these were the same people. The Gods protected and sometimes guided the Sisters and co-ordinated between them as they worked. The latter was an interesting task, handled by the God of Communications, as more than 500 worlds separated each of the cardinal points at the beginning of the process, and this had expanded to over a twelve hundred by the time the final lines were inscribed. The Guardians also made sure that no-one interfered with the process.

The Four Elemental Realms

Air

Ayao (Sister Air)

Located at 0° and corresponding to the “eastern” point of Veil 200, the Realm of Air is a realm of cities in the sky, zeppelins, birds and other winged creatures. It is also the centre of learning for the people of the four worlds of Elementis. It does not appear to have a ‘planet’, although it does have some floating rocky areas.

The largest of these floating/flying cities is the home of Sister-Goddess Ayao, the Keeper of Air, and contains the bound storm known as the Breath of Life.

Fire

Oya (Sister Fire)

Located at 90° and corresponding to the “southern” point of Veil 200, the Realm of Fire is a volcanic landscape with towers of lava and domed cities. Like the Air Realm, many of its denizens are winged (yes, here be dragons”). Given the volcanic activity, the atmosphere of the Fire Realm is somewhat sulphurous, with clouds of noxious gases rolling across the surface of the world.

There are cities which are marvels of construction, often insulated from the heat, where the majority of the people live. Some of these are domed for those people who aren’t able to live in the Fire Realm’s particular atmosphere without breathing equipment.

Sister-Goddess Oya, the Keeper of the Fires lives on the slopes of the largest volcano on the world, in a specially constructed city that can withstand the massive temperatures around it. Beneath her city lies the lava lake known as the Fire of Cleansing.

Water

Oshun (Sister Water)

Located at 180° and corresponding to the “western” point of Veil 200, the Realm of Water is primarily a realm of freshwater oceans, floating cities and healing waters. There are also some settlements on the bed of the ocean, both domed for the air-breathing, and un-domed for water breathers.

There is only one landmass of any particular significance on the world: the Keeper’s Island, where the palace of Sister-Goddess Oshun, the Keeper of the Waters, is located. At the centre of the island is the Heartwater.

Earth

Ala (Sister Earth)

Earth is the only one of the four which follows more normal Euclidian geometry. As a result, the Earth Iteration is the easiest of the four to walk. It is the military powerbase of the four Elementis worlds, serving to protect the others against all enemies.

In appearance it is the closest to a “normal” world, with cities and towns connected by a combination of roads and travel tubes. The atmosphere is standard oxygen-based.

Sister-Goddess Ala, the Keeper of Earth and Protector of Elementis lives in a palace on a small hill in the centre of the largest city on the world. The Path of Stone is reportedly beneath the palace.

The Elementis Shadows

As well as the Four Elemental Realms, the band of Shadows known as the Elementis Worlds forms a cross-section through the Sphere of the Inside (with the possible exception of an area in the very heart of the globe, although no-one has been into the Fireheart to look). The Elementis Band is deemed to comprise the eleven central Veils of the Inside: Veils 195-199 North, Veil 200 (where the Power was inscribed) and Veils 199-195 South, and comprises somewhere between 50k and 60k worlds.

These worlds are connected to each other and the Elemental Worlds via by a combination of an extensive travel tube network, as well as a web of point-to-point gates, akin to Trump gates.

The People

The population of the Elementis Worlds is the most diverse on the Inside. Given its link to the elements, the creatures of the Elementis Worlds, both sentient and non-sentient, comprise a plethora of different species and anatomies. Moreover, despite the appearance of the Four Sisters, being human, or even humanoid is not obligatory to be considered an active, respected member of the population.