The Elemental Planes

The Fabrics of Cynos

The Elemental Planes of Earth, Fire, Air and Water are four Planes of Existence located centrally in the Syzygy Cosmology. Since the beginning of time, they have existed in the very center of the Universe, caught perfectly between Ashra and Boda.

Aspects of the Gods

Ashra and Boda may be deities, but so too are they natural celestial bodies in the Astral Sea. They exert a physical force on the space around them, and those forces became strongest in the area in which they meet resistance. Ashra, the Sun, holds domain over the elements Fire and Air. Boda, the Moon, holds dominion over the elements Water and Earth. The four elements are not in direct conflict with each other, but their divine sources most certainly are. As such, the four elements manifested into Planes of Existence in their own right and acted as something of a natural, unyielding buffer between the two gods.

The Syzygy Universe

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A map of the known Universe according to the Syzygy Cosmology. It depicts the the Astral Sea, the Planes of Existence within, and its two deities, Ashra and Boda.

The Universe according to the The Syzygy Cosmology. The Elemental Planes are seen surrounding Cynos.

Elemental Chaos and Cynos

The confrontation between the Sun and Moon lasted millennia, and all the while the pressure exerted upon the four Elemental Planes continued to increase. Finally, the agitated Planes burst from the extended overstimulation, creating a maelstrom of Elemental Chaos at the very center of the Universe. Within this maelstrom, the four elements came together in an unprecedented manner: a new planet, Cynos, was created.
Dominion over Cynos fell almost entirely to the two gods Ashra and Boda, but the Elemental Planes are not without influence over the new celestial body. As the Sun and Moon circle their new planet, so too do the Elemental Planes rotate around the globe. Their passage influences the weather on Cynos, creating four distinct climate seasons that affect every quadrant of the world at any given time. Over the course of a year, each Plane will have passed equally across the whole planet, as detailed by the Avezahlian Calendar.

The Elemental Planes

Fire

The Elemental Plane of Fire has a history more complicated than any of the others. Fire, in it's truest form, is of the same matter as Ashra himself. Bright, warm, golden-hued and unwaveringly stable, True Fire differs from mundane fire in that it lacks the ravenous, uncontrollable hunger of the latter. True fire, or radiant fire, is firm and unyielding, but serene and beautiful, too.
Ashra's twin sister Boda, the Moon, is responsible for the wild and chaotic fire to which mortal Cynosians are accustomed. In a small victory against her brother, Boda tempted the radiant fire with the freedom to act as nature intended, and indeed, she delivered. Casting aside Ashra's influence and left to its own devices, fire became an insatiable devourer, a force of chaos incarnate. And as the element transformed, so too did its Elemental Plane.

The Plane of Fire after being influenced by Boda.

The Elemental Plane of Fire has always been supremely hot. For a mortal to enter it, they must first take extreme measures to ensure that they can withstand the fearsome heat that would otherwise incinerate them instantaneously. Assuming they could do this, however, the Plane of Fire was described as a place of serene comfort, akin to sunbathing on a summer day. Golden light permeated the entire plane, and angels were often found here tending to the sacred flames.
After Boda coaxed the fire to shed its Lawful properties, the Plane of Fire ceased to be a place of peaceful warmth and quickly transformed into a raging inferno. Now, the sky above is eternally shrouded by thick, black smoke, and the only traversable ground is where lava has hardened enough to hold weight. Explosions of magma are ceaseless, and scorching flames dance up towards the sky at all times.
In addition to flame elementals, the Plane of Fire is also home to efreeti, fire snakes and bats, salamanders, magmin and Azer.

The Plane of Air.

Air

Ashra's second Elemental Plane, that of Air, remains untouched by Boda's chaos. The Plane of Air is an endless expanse of sky, peppered with clouds and the occasional floating structure. Most of the residents of the Plane of Air are invisible and only noticeable when dust or other particles are blown past them, revealing their shapes. Like the former Plane of Fire, the Plane of Air is frequently visited by angels who enjoy soaring through the vast, open air.
In addition to air elementals, the Plane of Air is home to djinni, wind walkers, invisible stalkers and aerial servants.

Water

The Elemental Plane of Water is endless ocean, but not one bound by the physics mortals typically observe on Cynos. There is no surface—the water extends infinitely in all directions—and the pressure does not seem to change on a swimmer no matter how far they swim. The temperature and salinity of the water varies, allowing for all manner of aquatic life to thrive. Great clusters of coral or loose balls of seagrass drift through the depths, providing desirable environments for certain sea creatures but also serving as beacons for predators—predators which can be very, very large indeed, such as giant squid, abolyths and kraken.
In addition to water elementals, the only known native inhabitants of the Plane of Water are marids and water weirds. All of the other numerous life forms that reside in the Plane are immigrants brought over through elemental vortexes, usually by accident or coincidence.

The Plane of Water.

The Plane of Earth.

Earth

The final Elemental Plane is that of Earth. Boda's second elemental domain, this Plane consists of endless, solid matter—mostly various forms of rock—that is riddled with all manner of precious stones. Gems, crystals and luminescent rocks pepper the Plane of Earth through and through. Solid doesn't mean stable, though, and the whole Plane is frequently shaken by earthquakes. These quakes cause cracks in the ground, creating sparse tunnels and caverns that can be accessed by travellers. Rarely, some have even been known to set up mining operations to harvest the precious stones and metals found within the expanse of rock.
Aside from rock elementals, the Plane of Earth is home to dao, khargra, xorn, xaren, and crysmals. Creatures native to the plane were able to travel through it like fish through water; the rock would open up before them and close again behind them.