Clarifying the Primal Worlds
By Greg Stafford
I want to start off by re-informing everyone that people do not normally HeroQuest
within the God World, Spirit Plane or the Essence Dimensions. That is, not normally
in a hostile or aggressive manner since it's so easy for a mere mortal to be entirely
crushed out of existence. If someone belongs there then they fit, are welcome, and
cause no disruption to cause them to be hammered into shape or cast out.
First of all, the three worlds are different from each other, and his is intentional.
They, being the primal sources of magic, share their nature with the magic that they
provide. They, being different, provide different magic.
The God World is of huge things. They are magnificent and grand, massively
supernatural and beyond the normal reckoning of mortal people. Its realms are
distinctly set apart from each other, and when one is there and finds a way to get
to another ones of its levels that level is distinct and separate, and the person
sees that the more powerful realms are rather much inside the lesser ones.
For instance, to find a way to Orlanth's Treasure Box, where he keeps his Mystic
Gateway, one will first have to get into the realm of the demigods, then get past
that into the Great City of Orlanth, and from there into Orlanth's Hall, from there
into his private rooms, and somewhere in there is hidden the box that is sought.
These have borders that can be discerned and are stable.
The Spirit Dimension is made of smaller bits that are distinct, but they are contained
within larger and more powerful realms.
If one wishes to find Kargzant's access to the Infinite Realm they can start at Waha's
Camp, which is surrounded by the Great Herd. Keep going, outside of that into the
Happy Herding Realm, which lies in the Vast Plains of the Spirit. Wander on through
that, and perhaps they will open up to the Infinite Flatland, whose outer borders
fade away into the Infinite.
These regions are indistinct from each other, often overlapping and including the
lesser within the greater. They tend to shift and meld at times, merging and offering
no distinct boundaries. This is one of the great dangers of the Spirit Plane, for
beings of tremendous magnitude can be anywhere.
The Essence Planes are abstract, generally appearing as if they are the inside of a
room. To reach Solace one must go first to the Spell Plane, which might appear as a
representation of the power of a spell. This might be abstract or geometric, always
contains an emotional aspect of the power, and is inhabited by the energy required
to power a spell. These spell nodes have links, a corridor or perhaps a cyclone or
a wormhole, to a higher realm of the Saint/Founder Plane. This is behind a barrier
that must be passed, and it would look like the palace room or humble cave where the
saint resides. It almost always has the original copy of the grimoire or other sacred
tomes that the saint made to establish himself as a saint or founder. These, in turn,
are connected to the archetypal realm of the original, living runes. These are
entirely abstract, and to be within them one experiences the presence and being of
that specific archetypal rune power. The next level, that of Joy or Solace, has
limits that are so vast that they are undetectable by normal mortal facilities and
even by most immortal senses. To progress beyond his, to the Eternal Infinite, one
must discern its boundaries and find the tunnel "upwards to God."
Thus the divine magic comes from within the individual, as if it was within him. Its
beings are huge, being gods and goddesses. The power is something you are.
Spirit magic comes from beings who are smaller and more personal than the gods. The
spirit, often in a power item, is something you have.
Essence magic comes from understanding the abstract secrets of the world. It is
something that you know. It manifests from the abstract as a spell, a discharge of
energy to change the world.
I hope this is helpful.
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