The World Tree

The birthplace of all of Edrazion' giants, the World Tree exists as a planet-sized ash tree from which hang the eight spheres. This realm consists of a wide range of geographic features - each distinct to the sphere they reside within - glaciers, snow-capped mountains, volcanoes, and desolate plains. Almost all of the spheres display extremes of both weather and atmosphere. Much of the landscape is dotted with menhirs and forests of towering pine and oak trees. The World Tree is a great silver-barked ash tree with shimmering blue-black, oval leaves and silvery samaras bearing sterile seeds. The bark of Yggdrasil is rough and easily flaked, and pieces of the bark can at rare times be found with runes burnt deep into their inner surface; these runes carry the knowledge of magic, and can serve as power keys, allowing mystics to call upon certain living deities and consort gods even in distant planes. The branches extend for hundreds of miles; near the tree's trunk, they can reach easily miles wide, but at their most distant end they're narrow enough that a party must walk single-file along their length. The environment around the branches is generally mild, if tending more towards cooler temperatures, though the tree does feel a passage of seasons according to the time of year. During spring or summer, the leaves are so thick as to block most vision beyond a person's own branch, but as autumn approaches, as with any tree the leaves begin to fall clear. When the sky can be seen, it appears as the sky of any standard Prime world — blue in the daylight and starry black at night — though always without any sun or moon. Gentle breezes waft through the air, and occasional rain or snow does fall, but one never need worry about the danger of the weather upon the Ash. The tree is well-populated by animal life, though of course, like the tree, it tends towards the larger. Most commonly encountered amongst the local fauna are massive birds of prey of all varieties (though usually eagles, rocs, hawks, or falcons), herds of boar, burrowing beetles, and hunting spiders. Fungi grows in patches along the branches as well, a common foodstuff for local animals; the most common is a particular variety of black mushroom known for its foul flavor when raw, but popular among certain chefs for the depth of flavor that emerges when properly prepared. Each branch holds gravity towards its center, allowing a person to stand on any side; most branches hold flattened surfaces upon their "tops" or "bottoms" for easy travel after so many ages of being traversed by the ratatosk, but some are still as rounded as ever. Still, this gravity only holds for one near enough to a branch. A person knocked far enough from a branch of the Ash will fall towards the roots of the World Ash, eventually — if they cannot catch themselves in time — transitioning into the Astral Plane. Some branches simply end, but others reach into wide, chromatic pools, indicating a passage into another realm; these pools appear quite similar to Astral color pools, but are considered different phenomena. As one nears such a pool, the gravity of the branch slowly shifts, matching the gravity of whatever lies upon the far end. All such pools allow passage in both directions, and a person can easily take a quick jaunt through to observe the far side. On the far end, the branch almost always continues for hundreds of feet, usually cloaked in fog that prevents the pool from being visible from the ground below; at the ground, such branches tend to take one of two appearances: either a massive root plunging into the soil, or a massive, half-fallen tree.

The Spheres

Fimbulwinter: Home of the Frost Giants. Fimbulwinter is described as a wide tundra illuminated by sparkling icefalls. It is said to be mountainous, but still filled with snow, ice, frost, and glaciers. Atop its largest glacier can be found Nyfholl, a stronghold and festhall carved from the glacier itself.
The Steading: Home of the Hill Giants and Cyclopes. This sphere consists of infinite brown hills that are chaotically aligned around the center steading, the namesake of the lands. A single story longhouse - in giant size - but strangely consisting of miles upon miles of interconnected wooden rooms. Between these hills is grassland stretching as far as the eye can see and on the hills themselves there are forts inhabited by hill giants.
Woodhaven: Home of the Wood Giants. It is a large, peaceful sphere full of gardens and crystal springs. Within the heart of the massive oak forest at its center can be found collections of great longhouses.
Thraotor: Home to the Storm Giants and Cloud Giants. The sphere consists almost entirely of a single, massive thunderhead cloud that roams across the sphere, spreading violent storms in its wake. The only land that exists within Thraotor are the few mountain peaks that pierce the clouds, though they have no slopes and no bottoms, instead disappearing into fog as one descends their cliffs. Within the cloud is Stormhold, a mighty palace of marble adorned with gold, platinum, and gemstones rising up from within the plumes.
Muspelheim: Home of the Fire Giants. A jagged land of fire and volcanic rock, formed by inverted earthbergs that float through the sphere amongst and infinite sea of magma and flame. As a result of it being so inhospitable towards life, Muspelheim is a desolate place that is only favored by its resident fire giants.
Nidavellir: Home to the Stone Giants and Fomorians. The entirety of the sphere is underground. Its tunnels, chambers, and caverns are kept warm by hot springs and geysers, which provide ample heat to sustain the native vegetation, which consists of woods that required no sunlight to grow.
Niflheim: Home to the Tomb Giants. Niflheim consists mostly of forestland with bluffs that jut out and then quickly fall away. Put simply, the sphere looks like a gray version of a forestland on Edrazion. The air is cool, giving rise to a strange fog that blankets the land.
Shatterstone: Home to the Ogres, Trolls, and Ettins. It is an immeasurable plain, surrounded by dense forests, broiling deserts, flinty badlands, murky rivers and foreboding seas - all bearing the ravages of constant war. It is contested over nightly by inhabitants who heal quickly and even regenerate lost limbs.