Fae Realms

The Fae Realms are a non-euclidean plane of reality mirroring and parallel to the Material Realms within which New Generica is embedded. Eclectic energy entities, the mysterious primeval substance known as ectoplasm malleable through the application of arcana or even sheer will, a vast panoply of whimsical fantasy creatures, and other difficult to explain phenomena all hail from the Fae Realms.

Geography

At first glance, the Fae Realms are an unbounded volume of terrestrial space not unlike the material world they parallel. However, whereas the Material Realms is governed by concrete laws amenable to understanding through the senses and the faculties of scientific reasion, the Fae Realms are suffused with a primal energy that makes their substance somewhat malleable to the influence of the psychic energies of living beings. Instead of normal matter, the substance of the Fae Realms is comprised of various states of ectoplasm which, by the application of sufficient will or certain arcane processes, may be transmuted into normal matter or back again; indeed, the Material Realms and Fae Realms may exist as shadows of one another, the result of some antedeluvian creation event that separated and isolated the two forms of substance from one another.

Fauna & Flora

Living entities within the Fae Realms reverse the order of creation found in those of the Material Realms; for fae creatures, consciousness preceeds material embodiment, and, in fact, a conscious mind may exist without a corporeal form at all (will-o-wisps, poltergeists, nature spirits, etc.). When the energy of consciousness enters into a bolus of ectoplasm in the proper state, it may animate that substance and take a tangible form which, over time, gravitates towards certain archetypal shapes (sprites, animal spirits, treants, etc). Alternatively, a consciousness may cross the barrier into the Material Realms where the boundary between worlds is weak to create more mundane 'fae folk' known to most residents of New Generica (elves, gnomes, hengeyokai, spirit panthers etc). In any case, once rendered tangible, creatures within the Fae Realms settle into ecological niches amongst their fellows just as plants and animals might in the Material Realms. Sentient fae creatures tend to create social hierarchies just as humans do, replete with royal systems based on seniority of consciousness rather than blood lineage per se.

Natural Resources

Ectoliths represent the residue of whatever ancient event caused the separation between the Material and Fae Realms, but are much more frequently found in the latter context due to unknown cosmological processes. Intentional or not, hybrid species with mixed Fae and Material heritage tend to be potent natural talents with the use of arcane powers and, as such, may be valued for these traits as allies, teachers, servants, or pets. Certain ruins present only in the Fae Realms are said to contain secrets of how the universe was formed and, potentially, a means by which an eager supplicant might make contact with the gods themselves.

Tourism

Creatures from one side of the boundary between Fae and Material Realms can 'upset the balance' by traversing to the other side en masse or for an extended period of time. What exactly this balance is - or what the consequence of violating it are - remain unknown, but both the wisest Material sages and most potent Fae entities occasionally make dire warnings about the issue whenever a notable crossover event occurs. For this and many other reasons, including the difficulty in doing so, travel between the realms except at natural weak points in the boundary between worlds is fairly uncommon, especially in the modern post-apocalyptic era where the technology to create stable 'bridges' is lost to history.

Type

Dimensional plane