The structure of existence within the Voidfinder setting is a vast multilayered system that dictates the laws of physics, magic, and consciousness across the infinite sprawl of all layers of reality. Reality is fundamentally organized into three primary categories. The first is the Cosmic Weave, which forms the metaphysical fabric and fundamental media upon which all other planes of existence are built. The second is the Manifest, the tangible universe of stars, planets, and galaxies—the “real world” where organized matter and life exist. Finally, the Divine Cosmos encompasses the transcendent realms of the gods and other divine forces, which govern reality and house the afterlife destinations for mortal souls. The intricate interactions between these planes—the way the formless gives rise to the physical, and the physical gives rise to the spiritual—drive all phenomena in the cosmos.
The Cosmic Weave
Often simply called The Weave, the Fabric of Reality, or the Cosmic Tapestry, this category of planes represent the fundamental, underlying infrastructure of the multiverse. Each plane within the Weave is less a physical realm and more an operational layer necessary for the existence of the Manifest and the Cosmos.
The Astral Sea
The Astral Sea, also known as the Primordial Void or the Firmament, is the quintessential foundation of creation. It is a vast and timeless emptiness that connects all other planes, dimensions, and realities. The Astral Sea appears as an endless roiling of nebulous clouds, always on in the distance, which fill the realm with a perpetual, soft light. The Astral Sea is the raw, infinite potential within which all other realities are suspended. Any object or structure found here is necessarily a foreign body: a deity’s floating fortress, the wreckage of a planar ship, or the scattered civilizations of “immigrant” lifeforms who have mastered astral navigation.
The Ethereal Plane
The Ethereal Plane is the essential, interwoven medium of the Cosmic Weave. It exists simultaneously within and parallel to all planes that harbor living things, creating a seamless, metaphysical “ether” for energy exchange and spiritual transit. The Ethereal Plane lacks inherent light or darkness; entities within it perceive reality through an ethereal awareness that is not dependent on illumination. Its primary function is twofold: it acts as a flow medium for the vital energies that cycle between the Wellspring (life/growth) and The Withering (entropy/decay), and it serves as the transitional path for all mortal souls traveling to and from the Manifest. A soul that is not claimed by a deity or whose journey is interrupted often finds itself perpetually adrift in a state known as Ethereal Limbo. These “unclaimed” spirits wander the misty Threshold indefinitely, eternally prevented from reaching their ultimate reward, but saved from any true damnation. Planar travelers often prefer the Ethereal Plane because its nature allows them to peer into neighboring planes, making navigation more reliable than braving the Astral Sea.
Skotos, the Shadow Plane: The Umbral Aether
Skotos, the Shadow Plane, is the source of quasi-substance and the cohesive principle of the Manifest. Although it’s named for its lightless environment. Skotos provides the fundamental, semi-physical matter—the Umbral Aether—that allows the Manifest to hold its shape. This quasi-substance acts as a foundational physicality that can be made real by blending with the six elements of the Manifest. Strangely, Skotos manifests itself as a dark echo of Realspace. This reflection is inconsistent from location to location, but tends to form a dark and distorted parody of of locations in the Manifest.
The Manifest
The Manifest is the reality where organized matter, life, and civilization exist—the tangible, physical universe of galaxies, stars, planets, and nebulae. The Manifest is a technical term used by academics and planologists. Most sentient beings, however, refer to this common reality as Realspace.
All material existence is the result of the Cosmic Weave providing the spatial foundation and physicality which is then structured and given form by the Elemental Planes and brought to life by the dichotomous planes of the Wellspring and the Withering.
The Elemental Planes
The Elemental Planes are the conceptual source-realms for the six elements that shape the physical world: Air, Earth, Fire, Metal, Water, and Wood. These planes consist of pure elemental essence. Beings native to these realms are creatures of that pure essence—primal, philosophical concepts that can manifest as physical matter in Realspace but exist in their native planes without the need for material structure.
The Dichotomous Forces
The Dichotomous Forces are two opposing, yet necessary, conceptual planes that govern the flow of energy and the cycle of spiritual matter throughout the Manifest. These forces are the Wellspring, which is the source of life, spontaneous growth, change, and perpetual vitality; and The Withering, which is the source of entropy, decay, stasis, and ultimate, final death. Their complementary opposition drives existence itself.
The Divine Cosmos
The Divine Cosmos, or Divine Planes, represents the transcendent realms of faith and philosophy. These planes are the domain of the deities and the vast celestial forces that govern and maintain reality. They are embodiments of divine will, serving as administrative centers for the universe, destinations for mortal souls after death, and the homes of the deities..
Demenses
The Demenses are the personal realms of the deities. They are unique, self-contained planes—perfect reflections of a deity’s personality, domain, or philosophical ideal. They range from boundless celestial gardens to highly complex, crystalline fortresses.
The Afterlife
These planes serve as the destinations for mortal souls after they pass through the Halls of Judgement in Motynn. These destinations include countless varieties of Heavens and Hells across the Cosmos. The destination is determined by the soul’s mortal faith and the specific doctrine of their patron deity. No afterlife destination, whether a reward or a punishment, is necessarily permanent. Souls may eventually move on to serve their deity directly within their Demense, or they may re-enter the cosmic cycle.
Motynn
Motynn is the supreme administrative and legislative center of the Divine Cosmos. It serves as a space of absolute neutrality and common ground where even the most violently adversarial deities can meet peacefully. Violence is forbidden, and disputes here settled though debate, contests of skill or through manipulation and guile. This plane houses the Halls of Judgement, where mortal souls are weighed and assigned to the appropriate afterlife realms. Motynn serves as a sort of capitol or headquarters of the deities, providing a place where they may settle disputes, make collective decisions about the universe, keep each other updated on important events in the Cosmos and socialize.
Diamenis
Diamenis is the functional infrastructure of the Divine Planes. It is a sprawling complex of endless chambers and halls that connects the various celestial realms to each other and to the Manifest. This plane houses the logistical and maintenance operations of the Cosmos. It is populated by the deities’ servants and legions of unaffiliated administrators, clerks, and laborers who form the tireless bureaucracy of the Cosmos.
Omnium
The Omnium is the collective, active reservoir of all data, observation, and recorded experience from every moment of the multiverse. It is a place of recording, referencing, and occasionally predicting the future. Divine scribes and observers use this plane to analyze the impact of mortal free will and chaotic events, allowing the gods to anticipate and react to anomalies in Realspace.
Kaltorus
Kaltorus is a massive, esoteric plane dedicated to the perpetual and necessary expansion of the universe. Constructed by deities who sacrificed themselves during the Chaos Wars, the Kaltorus generates the powerful force of syntropy to push the boundary between Realspace and Primal Chaos ever outward. It is the single largest engineering project in the Cosmos, ensuring that creation constantly outpaces entropic destruction.
The Nexus
The Nexus is the refinery where the six conceptual elements are fine-tuned and blended before flowing into Realspace. Divine elemental masters adjust the fundamental ratios, densities, and physical properties of Air, Earth, Fire, Metal, Water, and Wood. This plane ensures the physical laws of the Manifest remain stable and consistent across all Realspace.
The Septessense Font
The Septessense Font is the source of all mortal souls. It spontaneously generates pure spiritual material called Septessense, the seventh element of the cosmos. This soul essence is drawn from the Font and formed into pure souls who are given consciousness and identity when they enter the Manifest. This vital task is performed by the Komistai, the celestial guides for the unborn.
Anomalous Planes
These planes exist outside the main foundational and material structures, often existing parallel to Realspace where they provide ancillary services which are technically unnecessary for Reality to function. Some are not true planes, but result from the collective properties of the Manifest or the Divine Cosmos.
The Aurora
The Aurora is a fluid dimension of the subconscious, where the Manifest and the Ethereal Plane intersect uniquely. It is the ubiquitous realm common to all sentient beings that sleep and dream. It appears as a realm of flowing, often brightly colored, landscapes shaped by the hopes, fears, and subconscious narratives of sleeping mortals. Many cultures believe the Aurora manifests physically in Realspace as a curtain of light in the night skies.
The Dimension of Time
A plane apart, the Dimension of Time is a purely theoretical realm to most scholars, though its effects are measurable. If accessible, it is a manipulable dimension where the past, present, and future are laid out non-linearly. To mortal beings, interacting with this dimension is exceptionally difficult and dangerous, often leading to madness or instantaneous unmaking.
The Wild and Wildspace
The Wild is the realm of fey and nature spirits, existing parallel to Realspace. Every planet with natural life is connected to the Wild, though this connection is tenuous near advanced civilizations. It is a realm of erratic and metamorphic reality, representing the primal, untamed forces of nature, separated from civilization by the Veil. Wildspace refers to the empty regions of the Wild between worlds, where life and nature are absent. This empty aspect is what allows for faster-than-light travel via specialized technology like feydrives, making the Wild an essential, albeit risky, medium for interstellar commerce.
The Beyond
Past the edge of the Divine Cosmos and the outer reaches of the Astral Sea lies The Beyond. Often considered the same entity as the Primal Chaos, The Beyond is instead the perilous transitional area between Reality and absolute non-existence. Once entered, the path generally leads only to the final descent into Chaos, though until that point, entities within the Beyond technically still exist. It is a terrifying region of chaos, formlessness, and unmaking, with almost no hope of return to the ordered Cosmos.
The Primal Chaos
The Primal Chaos is the true, absolute non-existence that exists entirely outside of Reality. Known sometimes simply as The Abyss, it is a realm entirely without definition or stable properties. It is composed of fluctuating, chaotic probability and potential that never stabilizes into anything truly real. By its nature, it cannot be entered or traversed, and its constantly shifting edge is the ultimate boundary maintained by the Kaltorus engine. The Primal Chaos represents the final, ultimate nothingness that the Cosmic Weave works tirelessly to hold at bay.