Collection of Worldviews

We came from a different world entirely. We had our friends, we had jobs, family, traditions, beliefs, we had all that. But everything changed when we arrived here. Where are we? what is our purpose? Is there even one? How did this world come to be and why are we here? We can only guess.

— Prelude of the Book

Theories of Origin

This is a collection of theories concerning the coming of Ignotas. How it was created and why it exists. A bit of background beforehand is needed however: As we all know, the way to enter Ignotas is a one way ticket. Our home plane, Cathrea, has a certain huge pit which is called "Anomaly Abyss", or simply known as "The Pit". No one knew what lies at the bottom, and everyone either died trying to reach the bottom or fell down never to be seen again. What they didn't know was that the bottom of this endless pit was the connection between the old world and this one. The mechanism through which we were all teleported here we call The Stream.

Extradimensional Plane

A widespread explanation for what Ignotas is, is just another extradimensional plane. Portals to new planes weren't too unusual in the old world, so on surface level, this doesn't seem too far fetched. This theory however, while not breaking entirely is built on brittle grounds, since it does not account for the absence of the gods. In the old world, when travelling to other planes, clerics and paladins were able to contact their patrons. Furthermore, the feywild was still reacheable, contrary to the current situation on Ignotas.

Timetravel

Timetravel was always a fun thing to imagine. Some think that Ignotas is a world in times where the eight primal gods of Cathrea weren't born yet. While this would explain the absence of both gods and the feywild, it wouldn't explain civilization being alone. In the old world, artifacts of ancient civilizations were found all over, but on Ignotas it feels like we as a society are the only ones inhabiting it. Granted our inhabited world is only some 17 000km² big but we should have come across some sort of sentient life by now.

A State Between Life and Death

Maybe, we all died. Ignotas could be the realm before hell. A final testing place where souls come to die the real death. Although most people don't want to believe this theory, it is the most solid we have at the moment. It is plausible that when dying in the Pit, the souls are restless. Maybe the fall to our death is so long, that we die and yet still fall. Ignotas could be the final test for the souls before entering heaven or hell. Everyone before us could have died here and moved on, while we settle here, in a state between life and death, refusing to give in and desperately trying to cling to life.

Theories of the Fog

This is a collection of theories about the existence of the Fog. Why does it exist and how? What is its purpose and what exactly does it do?

A Shielding Veil

Some think the Fog is a defense mechanism, shrouding some age old secrets from the people. This ties in with the people holding onto the timetravelling theory, since they think the Fog was created by the gods to keep us away from the ancient civilization. They think the Warding Light was bestowed to us by a rebelling god that secretly wants us to unveil what lies beyond this fog, but there has not been a single piece of proof surrounding this myth.

Lament of the Lost

Those that hold onto the idea of the realm between life and death preach about the Lament of the Lost. The Fog is the cumulation of the perished souls that cam before us. Those that fell intot he Pit and died before us have left behind remnants of their being, sorrow, madness and other negative emotions, thus summoning the demonic beasts and monsters that now roam the world. The Warding Light is thought of a the beacon that finally guids the last pieces of their soul into the afterlife, granting them their final rest.

Forgotten Boundary

Some think the Fog is a barrier that seperates the realm of the living with the realm of the forgotten gods. Aspects of Time, Space and Soul were never spoken about on Cathrea. Maybe the Fog seperates Ignotas from the realm of even more divine entities, and the Warding Light is the key to break this connection, liberating our civilization to join the ranks of divine beings.

Theories of Magic

The biggest difference between the old and new world is the non-availability of magic. In the world world, about 70% of the population was able to wield magic. Here, only eight incredibly powerful people, the eight mages, are able to wield magic of the old world. This is not to say that we don't use magic, but we have to do so through a conduit of some sort, be it machinery, trinketry, golemancy or others.

Non-Reacheable Realms

The most on-the-nose thought that a lot of people ponder about, is that Ignotas is simply... too far a realm away to have a normal connection with the gods and other realms. The Pit is unimaginably deep and who knows how far away this realm actually is from the other ones. Maybe the eight mages are jsut that adept and in tune with magic that they still somehow have a connection to their origin despite the huge distance.

Divine Exile

Some think the magic of this world was cut by some magical force field surrounding it. A barrier that dispels magic is certainly nothin uncommon, so maybe a creature of unimagineable power created one so big as to not let any magical effects through to people. The question then is, why only to people directly and not also to trinketry? And why can the eight mages still work their magiks?

Rox Monopoly

While there aren't many people displeased with the works that Rox Guild and specifically Elijah Artemus Rox are doing, some think that the Rox Guild is responsible for this magical disarray. While there is not a single concrete piece of evidence, some belief the Rox to be evil from the ground up and want someone to blame.

Fogs Interference

The most widespread and publicly accepted theory is that the Fog has some special magical capabilities that blocks contact with the outside realms. It would make sense, since the Fog is still the biggest mystery of Ignotas and we know not nearly enough as to even give an educated guess on what exactly it is. This theory is also easy to be believed, since most of the people can go to sleep thinking that they can't do anything about it anyways, taking the easy way out.

World Map

Open full size

This map details the currently unveiled territory by humanity.

Illustrations

Last Stand

Lament of the Lost

We actually welcome all these different takes on Ignotas origin. We have an open ear for any new tale or myth and dedicate ressources to try and find solutions to those thoughts. Ultimately, the facts of today are the theories of yesterday.

— Scientist

Divine Exile

Further Reading