A COMPLETE GUIDE TO THE COSMOS
PART THREE: FROM OLD ONES TO NEW MORTALS
OLD ONES
The Old Ones may not exist, or they may be the true creators of the
Cosmos. The few evidences of their existance are questionable, and they
represent a big question mark whose answer (maybe) lies beyond the
Vortex.
OUTER BEINGS
There are two groups of Outer Beings: the Ulterior Ones and the Mirror
Gods. The Ulterior Ones live partly in the Normal and partly in the
Mirror Tetraspace, while the Mirror Gods live in the Mirror Tetraspace,
where they are gods and rule the laws of this endless chaos. Although
both groups think and act in ways totally beyond Normal comprehension,
given their "unnatural nature", they have completely different goals.
The Mirror Gods are not much different from the Normal divinities, while
the Ulterior Ones eternally plot to regain their lost physical dimension
and avenge themselves of the emprisonement they have been confined to by
the Mirror and Normal Gods, during the Battle of Birth of Universes.
TRUE GODS
The True Gods are the supreme rulers of the Normal Tetraspace. They are
a small number, compared to the Athanatoi and the Immortals. Theorically
they have retired from the Normal Tetraspace after the defeat of the
Ulterior Ones, and have left the Multiverse in the hands of the
Athanatoi and the Immortals. The existance of the True Gods has been
hidden by the Athanatoi to all other living creatures, although some
doubts on the existance of superior gods have been raised by some of the
Immortals and other "new" divinities. These doubts have given way to the
"legends" about the Old Ones, although wheter the true Old Ones exist is
a problem that the True Gods can't solve.
The True Gods have separated the Normal Tetraspace in many separated
Multiverses, and have told each group of Athanatoi put to live in each
of these Multiverses that they were the only ones to survive the Battle
against the Ulterior Ones. Then they pretended to retire from the
Multiverse, but most of them has taken the form of several Athanatoi and
Immortals, in fact controlling the Multiverse. The True Gods have
immense powers: each of them may assume the form of dozens of Immortals
at a same time, that they send in the various Multiverses to watch over
the Immortals' and Athanatoi's behavior.
ATHANATOI
The most powerful of the non-True-Gods, the Athanatoi are the first
living creatures generated by the Thoughts of the Gods that sided with
the True Gods in the Battle of Birth of Universes. Each Multiverse hosts
its Athanatoi - they are few, and very powerful, ranking among the most
powerful (and the oldest) divinities of their Multiverse. Some Athanatoi
are in fact True Gods that have assumed a lesser form (see above). The
Athanatoi have hidden to the lesser-ranking divinities the existance of
Outer Beings and True Gods, pretending to have forgotten the first
stages of their existance because they are too old, or that they
incarnate primary forces of nature from which they were generated during
the birth of the Multiverse. This makes even more difficult for the
lesser-ranking divinities to discover the Truth of the Origin of the
Multiverse, hidden under layers of godly lies, also because Athanatoi
from one Multiverse do not recognize as Athanatoi those from another.
Athanatoi cannot be harmed or killed in any way by Immortals and
Mortals, and do not depend on their followers to keep their strenght.
They can be harmed by True Gods, however. It is not known wheter they
could actually harm each other directly, as they haven't tried yet after
billions of years.
IMMORTALS
"Immortals" is a term used to call all lesser-ranking divinities, that
once were mortals and that through impossible odds, willpower and the
belief of their followers, have ascended Immortality in the Prime Plane,
the Plane of Belief. Depending on the whim of the Immortals and their
followers, they can be called Gods, Immortals, Divinities, Demons,
whatever. Each Multiverse has its "hierarchy of Immortals", different
from Multiverse and Multiverse: the fact that Immortals from different
Multiverses cannot recognize each other as similar creatures have
prevented them to discover the secret of the existance of many
Multiverses. Moreover, Immortals believe that the Athanatoi have
ascended godhood like they did, ascending from mortality to immortality,
or that they incarnate primary forces of the Multiverse, and do not
suspect that they are in fact a different type of gods.
Immortals depend on their followers to keep their strength and powers,
and thus they are heavily involved in mortal matters, especially from
the planets and regions from which they arose.
DISCONTIGUATES
When the Ulterior Ones fought against the True Gods and the Mirror Gods at the Battle of Birth of Universes, they were helped by their
servants, four-dimensional beings that had been generated without the proper conception of continual dimensionality...when the two
Tetraspaces were separated, they continued to exist in both, although partly, because they were just four-dimensional. They could have
dimensions 1-3 and 5, or 1-2 and 4-5, or whatever weird combination. Among the servitors of the Ulterior Ones, there were even those
of dimensions 1-4 or 2-5, thus dimensionally similar to their enemies' servitors.
After their masters' defeat, they continued to exist with their impossible dimensions; moreover, the Ulterior Ones retained the power to
create other Discontiguates, like they are called because they do not have a "normal progression of dimensions". Discontiguates with
dimensions 1 and 5 are extremely powerful, because they can draw upon dimensions that neither the True nor Mirror Gods can reach,
and are the "right hands" of the Ulterior Ones. Other Discontiguates may be less dangerous, but are weird and extremely unnatural
creatures of the Cosmos. A Discontiguate exist simultaneously in the Mirror and Normal Tetraspace, and this is really a weird feature:
they cannot cross the boundary between the two Tetraspaces simply because there is no boundary for them. They can, as an example,
use an object in the Prime Plane while seeing a Malphera eating in the Nightmare Dimension...
MORTALS
Most of the other creatures of the Cosmos are simply Mortals. They live and die, although they may be able to attain a higher level of existance. A special entry, as they are distinct from the common "mortal creatures" is needed for Dragons and Draedens.
THE DIMENSIONAL NATURE OF BEINGS
Unliving things have just dimensions 1 to 3, or 5 to 3 if they are in
the Mirror Tetraspace. If taken from one Tetraspace to the other, they
simply change their nature to fit the new dimensions.
Living mortal creatures have all dimensions 1 to 4. They are not able to
perceive their 4th dimension, but they can somehow "draw" upon this
dimension to cast magic or to use magical effects, in different ways.
This ability can be reflected in magical special abilities, in psionics,
or in the skill to learn Arcane Magic. Priests are granted the ability
to cast Divine Magic by their divine protectors.
In the Mirror dimension this becomes living in dimensions 2 to 5, but
being unable to perceive the 2nd, with almost the identical skill to
cast magic.
If a living mortal creature passes from one Tetraspace to another, it
suffers great pain during the transit, because it must change all its
dimensional physical nature.
Mortals can attain Immortality, which means that they discover how to
use some of their 4th dimensional abilities and become able to perceive
it.
Immortals and Athanatoi exist at levels 1 to 4, and are able to use some
of their 4th dimensional abilities, and to perceive all of it.
Immortality is thus just a major stage of evolution of mortality,
however it is very difficult to attain.
Immortals can cross the boundary between the Tetraspaces. They too
suffer the dimensional change; moreover, in the other Tetraspace they
lose their Immortal status, because here they are simply mortal, not
having learned to use their 2nd dimension in Mirror Shape (or viceversa,
if crossing to Normal from Mirror). Returning to their home Tetraspace
allow them to regain their Immortal status. Athanatoi, on the other
hand, cannot cross the boundary (only with a mortal manifestation of
their power - this is an Avatar in AD&D 2E Game, or a Mortal Form in D&D
Immortals Rules).
True Gods and Mirror Gods exist in all 5 the dimensions, however they
have been permanently cut off their 5th dimension when the two
Tetraspaces were generated (maybe by the Old Ones, but who knows? Surely
not the True Gods). There is no way for them to regain the lost
dimension, but they can perceive and use fully all their 4-dimensional
skills, and this explains their powers in the Tetraspace. Contrarily to
all the above-mentioned creatures, they cannot cross the boundary
between a Tetraspace and the other; however, they could, with a terrible
expense of power, cross directly the Inner Vortex from a Multiverse to
the other (although they really do not have the need to do so, as thay
usually keep at least an Immortal Identity in each Multiverse). A True
God's Immortal Identity, however, can pass into the Mirror Tetraspace
(see above).
Ulterior Ones exist in all five dimensions, but have been "cut away"
from one of their "inner" dimensions (that means 2,3 or 4), separating
part of their essence in one of the Tetraspaces and one in the other.
This has prevented them to be the only living creatures still able to
live in both Tetraspaces simultaneously, something that would give them
total control over the Cosmos. The Athanatoi, True Gods and Mirror Gods
are responsible of this imprisonment, but the fact that it is not
"natural" could mean that one day or another the Ulterior Ones may
eventually have the upper hand over the powers that bind them and regain
their complete freedom...and thus dominate the Cosmos....
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