Petal Theory

Artwork by Natasha S

Petal Theory is an esoteric, academic theory about the cosmic makeup of the expanse of existence, known to seldom few scholars and planar travelers. It describes the whole of Tyrnog, the Mirror, and the Other Side as a single "Petal" on a massive flower, which all the energy that will ever exist passes through in an infinite cycle. While not intrinsically tied to the Infinite Line, the number of scholars below the Line that can claim to have a full understanding of Petal Theory is precisely zero.

Summary

Petal Theory begins by introducing a singular flower on a field of black soil, with a multiversal sun overhead and an infinite number of multi-colored petals. The pistil (or center) of the flower is filled with a glowing nectar — the light of the sun captured in a new form — which bleeds into all of the petals around it.
Over time, space for a new petal emerges, and that petal grows longer, lives a full life, and then eventually dies, falling down to the black earth below. There the petal decomposes, becoming a new kind of energy, which runs its course and is absorbed again by the flower's roots, or is evaporated over time by the sun. So the cycle repeats, and the flower itself lives on for eternity.
As the analogy goes, this sweet nectar (and the light that creates it) are both forms of Anima, whereas the energy absorbed from the ground is Vacuus. The ground itself is the Dark Tapestry, whereas the sun is of great speculation, but widely believed to be the mysterious homeland of the Elder Numen species — those who first chained the Outer Gods in place, and tend to the flower from afar.
Each Petal (capitalized for emphasis in most texts) describes an entire sub-existence, such as the one that contains the Godhead, and has many neighboring Petals one can travel to via Hopping. Pieces of the Petal closest to the center of the flower are by definition the areas most affected by Anima, e.g. the First World and Carnival, whereas far-off locations like the Godswood and Paradise are often more independent of such influence. Similar logic holds for the shadowed side of each Petal with Vacuus, and locations like the Plane of Shadow or the Far Shore.
The cycle of energy in Petal Theory is considered to be perfect — energy flows down to the flower from the sun, which in turn feeds the Petals, which then feed the ground, which is later absorbed back into the flower. Any excess energy is burned up by the sun over time, which presumably floats upwards and is later returned to the flower via usual means. However, some believe that too many Petals dying at once — or a Petal rich with stored energy — falling to the ground would create a great imbalance, poisoning the flower with Vacuus in amounts faster than the sun could "boil". It is believed that the Outer Gods attempt to destroy the Entwined Infinities for this purpose, but none have ever been able to verify and live to tell the tale.

Historical Basis

Petal Theory was officially formalized in this Petal by Albus Rickette, although any writings he had on the subject were lost with Golarion and the Gap. However, the Gnome was not the first to associate existence with a flower, and similar creation myths are popular among the Fey, and certain subspecies of Elves that live in the First World.

Spread

Perhaps a few hundred mortal scholars in each cycle of the Infinities is lucky enough to come across Petal Theory, making its study incredibly rare. Given the colossal difficulty associated with Hopping, few are ever able to prove new hypotheses in this area of research, and thus funding and support is all but non-existent.
In recent events, just before the fifth edict of the Dark Walker was formed, Delikul imparted his understanding of Petal Theory to Thunder in the Mist (see the Fifth Edict for more information). Of note, he believed that Elder Numens were from a Petal, and not from the sun described in the Theory.
While he did not call out Petal Theory by name, Lod Coster hypothesized that both the Godhead and the Beasts of Armageddon come from a separate world, and that some cataclysmic event resulted in their journey to this Petal, corrupting it with their influence.
As all deities know of the Godhead in some capacity, most are aware of Petal Theory, but few take the time to study it.