Athanya Primer

Written by orphidor

The Setting

The universe of Athanya hosts ten different Realms. Each Realm is a separate plane of existence with its own conditions of reality and inhabiting creatures. Most of the stories I'm working on take place in three specific planes, which I call the "primary Realms." The Realms are connected (aside from the Shenzalas,) allowing energy, objects, and sometimes even people to travel between them, though the journey is usually difficult. Each Realm is aligned on a scale of light and dark, chaos and order. The higher a Realm's alignment, the closer it is to pure darkness and order. The lower its alignment, the closer it is to pure light and chaos.
The full list of Realms is as follows:

Map of the Realms by orphidor

• The Higher Realm (a primary Realm)
• Higher Shenzala
• Higher Midway
• Low-To-High Selsya
• The Middle Realm (a primary Realm)
• High-To-Low Selsya
• Lower Midway
• Lower Shenzala
• The Lower Realm (a primary Realm)
• The Inevitable

The Realms are constantly in an imperceptible state of motion, meaning that, over the course of unknown thousands of years, they will gradually form new "shapes" in relation to each other. When the planar shapes are imbalanced, the flows of energy between each Realm are altered, thereby changing their internal laws of reality.
Even though there are ten planes of existence in Athanya, there are only three primary Realms that a newcomer needs to remember: the Higher Realm, the Middle Realm, and the Lower Realm. These are where ordinary people can be found and where most of Athanya's stories take place.

The Timeline

Exactly 350 years have passed since the Realms aligned in their current orientation. At the moment, thanks to their alignments in relation to one another, the Realms are in an era known as the Age of Balance, characterized by laws of reality that are suitable for intelligent life to possess self-awareness. Before the Age of Balance was the Age of Terror, a period which spanned unknown centuries, during which time enormous creatures with bizarre appearances roamed the Realms. It's unknown what happened before the Age of Terror or when the Age of Balance will come to an end.
The way the Realms are aligned has led to an era known as the Age of Balance. Athanya is currently 350 years into this era, which is known for energy flows that allow intelligent beings to hold consciousness.

Zimri by PrincePotion

The People

There are no classic fantasy races like humans or elves in Athanya. Instead, the Realms are populated by a variety of races from my own imagination. At the current moment, there are twelve "intelligent races" scattered throughout the three primary Realms. Each intelligent race has its own strengths, life outlooks, and visual appearances. Though they vary widely in size and temperament, they do share a set of qualifying traits. The Suktu most resemble humans, but have key biological differences that set them apart, including their small stature. Others, like the Kalzua, are more akin to bipedal pigs than anything else. The intelligent races are usually confined to the primary Realms, but they do occasionally find their way to other planes of existence.
I'm tired of fantasy racial strife, so despite the intelligent races' differences, I decided to do something a bit unusual. Individuals within Athanya's bigger groups don't always get along, but as a whole, there is no large-scale conflict or hatred between the races. The reasoning behind this involves the dangerous nature of the universe. The races must be unified against this larger threat or face extinction.
Instead of elves or humans, Athanya has twelve intelligent races with varying characteristics. The races choose to cooperate with one another in order to survive rather than fighting amongst themselves.

The Gods

Ahbessa by greybirdy

The Deities of Athanya aren't omnipotent. In fact, they can't even see into all the Realms. From their homes within Higher Shenzala and Lower Shenzala, they can only view the four Realms that are closest to them, and no Deity can look into the Midways. Because the Shenzalas are disconnected from the other Realms, Deities cannot travel outside of their Realms and nothing from other Realms can reach them. The Deities can, however, send thoughts and messages to the Realms closer to their domains if they gather in groups of two or more to pool their energy. This is what took place when a group of Deities from Higher Shenzala created the Divine Conveyance, a parcel of information implanted in the minds of the intelligent races so they would be equipped to survive in the Realms.
It's important to note that the Deities don't rely on worship to survive. In fact, while some have formed a following and enjoy the praise they receive, a significant number are entirely unknown to the intelligent races, preferring instead to gather information from a distance and work on their machinations alone.
The Deities of Athanya don't see and know everything. Many don't even accept worship. Among those who have made themselves known to the intelligent races are a group who collaborated to gift the ordinary people with information meant to help them survive and work together.

The Magic

Athanya is a universe with magic interwoven into the very fabric of its existence. This magic takes the form of energy, which can be found in every object and creature in varying intensities. Non-sentient objects have lower levels of energy than intelligent people, who possess something called the Celestial Boon, a gift from the universe itself that, while not particularly powerful, is thoroughly entwined with a person's disposition.
The other forms of wieldable magic that exist in Athanya can be complex and potent. They do, however, come with risks. Over the course of their life, every mage will make some type of pronunciation mistake or accidentally flip a letter while reading a spell