Miðgarðr, the Home of Men
in The Mortal MultiverseStructure
Miðgarðr is the size of a Universe; on an observable scale, it is roughly 100 Trillion Light Years wide. This is because Miðgarðr is technically infinite and always growing and expanding outward from the center planet, Highgarden, outwards to the barrier of the Realm, marked by the Miðgarðr Serpent, Jörmungandr, who encompasses the Universe. When celestial bodies, over a great period, slowly and eventually make their way to the Edge of Infinity, they begin to slowly rotate and drift back towards the center again as the gravity well at Highgarden ebbs and flows.
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Speaking of planets, Miðgarðr is composed of planets formed by a delicate life cycle in the Realm. All Realms of Yggdrasil have their own Yggdrasil Tree within them and the Miðgarðr Yggdrasil Tree sits right on top of Highgarden and towers into the infinite cosmos, from any planet in the infinite universe, the great canopy of the Miðgarðr Yggdrasil Tree can be seen in the sky. Golden seeds fall from the leaves and drift in the cosmos, landing on space debris and particles, planting a Minor Yggtree which gathers more debris and grows into a planet. All Natural Worlds of Miðgarðr have their own Minor Yggtree growing out of the core of the planet and towers into the skies as well. These Trees live for some time and foster life until they reach the natural end of their life cycle and die, reducing planets back into space debris and particles for more planets to be born.
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After the Great War in Heaven, a great winter took hold of the Miðgarðr Yggdrasil and it stopped producing golden seeds, which, in time, saw a drastic decrease in planets of the Realm. The Imperium of Miðgarðr took action and hired the Sons of Ivaldi to create Forge Worlds, artificial planets that served the same purpose as normal planets, complete with atmospheres and complex biology and ecosystems, but lacked the Minor Yggtree of Natural Worlds. Though the Imperium did so to save countless lives, and countless more it did, the Imperial Faith deems it heretical and will never build a church on a Forge World. Miðgarðr is separated into 5 rings.
- The Cradle of Mankind (Core)
- The Inner Worlds
- The Belt (Middle Ring)
- The Outer Worlds
- The Edge of Infinity (Furthest Ring)
A Ring is a sphere of galaxies (clusters of star systems) within the same relative space that all share the same Major Rivers. A River is a "soft spot" in Realspace that allows for FTL travel without doing damage to a vessel or the cosmos. Major Rivers are what connect different galaxies together in a ring shape. Some 500-900 Major Rivers can exist in a Ring and are integral to trade and transportation. Within a galaxy, Minor Rivers exist and branch off from the corresponding Major River(s) allowing direct access to Star Systems. Systems that do not have a Minor-to-Major River access have a Minor-to-Minor River, which is just a Minor River that connects to another star system. This is also referred to as Star-Locked if the system must connect to 1 other system for access to a Major River, Star-Locked II if the first system they connect to is already Star-Locked and Star-Locked III if the connecting system is already Star-Locked II, etc.
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These Major and Minor Rivers and the access they provide are what create the natural boundaries for Regions which are spatial divisions within a galaxy defined by the FTL lanes facilitating access to multiple star systems, influencing political and logistical dynamics. To a similar degree, within Star Systems, the corresponding Minor River(s) terminate onto planets that will have control over the River(s). From here, internally, FTL is possible via Creeks which allow travel only within the system itself. These Creeks create the boundaries of a star system Sectors, similar to Regions but on a smaller scale. Star systems can have any number of Creeks and Minor Rivers, but they typically always have more Creeks, which results in smaller Sectors when compared to the larger Regions.
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Major Rivers run in a circular Ring shape but do not allow starships to exit their Ring. For this, the cosmos has the King's Roads, interstellar rivers that run through other Rings, originally conquered and controlled by the Imperium, under the command of Summus Imperator David, hence its name as the King's Roads. Only 70-90 of them exist in the cosmos and they slowly move over time, unlike Major or Minor Rivers. If you wanted to control Miðgarðr, conquer the King's Roads.
The Kami of Miðgarðr
All Natural Planets within Miðgarðr bear Kami, natural celestial beings that are the "soul" or personification of the planet and its inhabitants. For example, there may be a Mountain Kami or a Boar Kami, or an Ocean Kami. The Kami are the celestial stewards of their planets and exist to ensure the world and the Minor Yggtree do not suffer. They can be revered as Gods in some respect, but true Gods reside in the Holy Realms, not down here in the lowly Mortal Realms, and no Kami who knows better would ever call themselves a God in the presence of a real deity.
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Below the Kami are the other supernatural entities of a Natural World, such as the Nymph species (such as the Dryad (Tree Nymphs), the Naiads (Freshwater Nymphs), the Nereids (Ocean Nymphs) or the Oreads (Mountain Nymphs), etc.), the Satyr Folk, and the Beast Men. Next are Sacred Icons, which are animals or creatures imbued with the power of the Kami and are in service to them. And below them are the Mortal Beings such as Aliens, Flora, and Fauna. Unless a planet is being ravaged by some great evil or faces imminent danger, which would kill the Kami and all the Supernatural beings who are linked to the planet, the Kami and their court typically do not interact with Mortals on a macro level. The Kami respect Mortals as the inheritors of this Realm as commanded by the First Name of God and Mortals respect the Kmai who maintain the planets. Killing a Kami or destroying a Natural Planet is classified as a Crime Against Yggdrasil and can land you in front of the Gilded Court.