Layers of Reality Outside the Physical

There is more than one of everything provided that one knows where to look.

The world of Crimson Shadows is grounded in a material world much like our own, a physical reality that is shared between humans and the various creatures that live on Earth. But, there are layers to Earth; other worlds that lay alongside our own, metamorphically above, below, around, and in-between. For those rare souls that can peel back the veils that separate these worlds from our normal senses, whole new vistas open up and the secrets of the universe reveal themselves if one looks closely enough.

There are two main other worlds that people typically interact with.Metaphysically speaking, these two different realities touch our world everywhere, existing symbolically as above and below our reality.

• Astral Realm - The "High Realm", it is the place that psychics walk when they project their minds with astral projection. It is the domain of angels, elemental spirits, reapers and other spiritual entities which have never worn flesh and are not easily categorized nor understood by humanity.
• Shadowlands - A dark, grim, and twisted reflection of our world. The Shadowlands wrap around and reflect the living world (referred to as the Skinlands) and every location in the Skinlands has a direct physical analogue in the Shadowlands, although the relationship can sometimes be tenuous. A ghost living in the Shadowlands of New York, for example, can walk from Manhattan to the Bronx. However, objects which are remembered in the living world still exist in the Shadowlands, so that same ghost may be able to climb the memory of the Twin Towers, or walk the Colosseum as it was in the days of old Rome.

The Astral Realm

The Astral Realm or the Astral Plane is sometimes referred to as the "spirit world". It is a place of high magic, where angels roam immaterially as multiform wavelengths of celestial intent and light, a place where magic can be observed, where Enochian wards gleam with incandescent power, and where psychics, vampires, and other kinds of creatures project their minds to in order to walk beyond their physical forms. It is a reflection of our world, but one that is as our world is "supposed" to be. Though divided now, the two were once joined. The spirit world still touches the material one, for were it gone completely, Earth could not sustain life. Powerful actions on the physical plane send emanation into the spirit world.

Denizens of the Astral Realm

• Angels
• When an angel is without a vessel it exists as a ribbon of shifting colored light, commonly made of golds, silvers, whites and blues. Typically angels move through the astral realm at considerable speed.
• Elementals or Furies
• There are four, or six, depending on one's perspective, classical elements which make up physical matter in occult teaching: Fire, Water, Earth, Air, and Metal and Wood. When not embodied physically through powers or Aleran Furycrafting, they exist as spiritual presences within the Astral realm.
• Reapers
• Reapers, sometimes referred to as angels of Death, are spirits which help deceased souls move on from life and into the afterlife. While rare on the Astral Plane, they are sometimes found here, especially those that moonlight as trackers or have side businesses.
• Mindhunters
• The Astral Realm is not always a quiet and peaceful place, and has its own threats and menaces. Mindhunters are one example of the native creatures who have the capacity to ravage the psychic essences and minds of creatures that walk the astral plane. They typically hunt in packs of five to ten individuals, and work cooperatively to bring down prey. They resemble oversized wolves with eyes that burn with a fierce silver light.
• Astral Dreadnought
• Perhaps the most frightening creatures that exist native to the Astral realm are the Dreadnoughts. Appearing as huge beings composed of dark matter which resemble thunderhead clouds in the material world, they are dangerous because they can manipulate, twist, and warp the reality of the Astral Realm in order to suit their purposes, remaking reality as it pleases them.

The Shadowlands

As mentioned before, the Shadowlands wrap and reflect the living world – every location in the Skinlands having a direct physical analogue in the Shadowlands, although the relationship can sometimes be tenuous. The Shadowlands however are a grim reflection of the living world. Buildings are run down. Streets are broken and grey weeds 'grow' up from the shattered sidewalks and asphalt. Cities in the living world are represented by the Necropoli in the dead world and each city is typically ruled by the most powerful ghost within the Necropoli, the Deathlord. Deathlords in many ways resemble feudal monarchs, exercising almost total power and authority over their demesnes, and appointing other ghosts to serve in key positions

Existence in the Shadowlands is remarkably similar to life before death, and many ghosts hold jobs and tend to responsibilities or pursue objectives just as if they were still living.

Denizens of the Shadowlands

• Ghosts
• By far the most numerous inhabitants of the Shadowlands are ghosts, also known as the Restless Dead. These souls of the dead have refused to accompany their Reaper into the afterlife and are thus trapped in the Shadowlands until they complete their business, resolve their issues, or surrender at last to the call of Heaven or Hell and move on. For a Ghost, there are only three fates possible, outside of which ghosts simply exist:
  • Transcendence - Moving into the afterlife
  • Oblivion - Being destroyed spiritually
  • Incarceration - Being soulforged into an object or item that can be used by other ghosts.
• The difference between as Ghost and a Vengeful Ghost is that the Vengeful spirits only briefly appear in the Shadowlands and they operate mostly in the physical world, whereas the opposite is true for a Ghost.
• Ghosts in the Shadowlands are normal people. Their supernatural strength, increased resilience and endurance, does not apply unless they are in the Skinlands.
• Reapers
• Sometimes known as the Angels of Death, Reapers are spiritual beings that exist to help souls disconnect from their bodies and move on into the afterlife. Reapers can take on whatever humanoid appearance they desire, sometimes appearing as attractive men and women in order to persuade souls to let go of life and move on. Reapers are incredibly potent spirits and generally beyond being compelled or controlled.
• Plasmics
• Plasmics are the souls of animals and beasts which have enough substance to remain in a ghost-like state. The entire diversity of animals that walk the Earth can be found as plasmics. Plasmic creatures are often pets of Ghosts, or aides and servants. A powerful enough ghost can even carry their plasmic across the Veil and into the physical world.
• Specters
• Specters are ghosts which have given in to the desire to be destroyed and surrender to Oblivion. For Specters however, this fall into nothingness can take time and while their spirits dissolve, they gain increased power, strength, and speed, enjoying supernatural levels of physical might in the Shadowlands. They are very dangerous and are happy to shred any other ghosts, plasmics, or even the living they stumble across.

Spiritual Realms

Beyond the Astral Realm and the Shadowlands are the realms of Heaven, Purgatory, and Hell. These places are almost impossible to access unless one is an angel, demon, or a necromancer.

• Heaven - A place of peace, reflection, joy and pleasure. A place where the souls of good people go in order to spend their eternity reliving and creating their own personal heavens out of their memories and dreams.
• Hell - A place of torment and sorrow, pain and destruction, where the souls of those that have made bargains with demons, or those that have lived cruelly and done evil go. Once, Hell was a place of expiation, where you suffered for your sins before moving on to Heaven, but it has been a very long time since any souls were released from Hell.
• Purgatory - A place of quiet reflection where the souls of monsters go to dwell, and the junction point between all the realms of Earth: The Astral Realm, The Shadowlands, Heaven and Hell.

Heaven

Heaven, also called The Attic, The Penthouse, Paradise, or even Upstairs, is an ageless, ethereal, holy realm created by God, intended to be the home-realm of both himself and his children, as well as a few selected Deities. It serves as a dwelling place and a base of operations for angels, and is the final resting place of worthy human souls. Outside of angels and the souls which go to their personal paradises, very few living creatures have ever seen Heaven. Much like Earth however, Heaven has multiple locations, with the personal heavens of human souls only constituting one part of it. God maintains a throne room that resembles that of ancient rulers, angels have their own domiciles, and there are gardens and sections devoted to the natural word in an homage to the beauty of Earth's wilderness.

Denizens of Heaven

• Angels
• Angels make up the bulk of the non-human inhabitants of Heaven. Angels are capable of entering the individual heavens that human souls inhabit, experiencing those heavens by observation or actively taking part in events within.
• Celestial Animals
• Animals, such as beloved pets, may sometimes appear in an individual's personal Heaven. Angels are able to duplicate these animals and turn them loose in one of Heaven's many gardens or other angelic locales.
• Humans
• By far the most numerous occupants of Heaven, humans are generally locked into their own personal paradise, and perfectly content to remain that way. Some humans have displayed a knack for moving from their own heavens and into the paradise of others for conversation or conspiracy. A rare few have been known to leave their personal heavens and walk where the angels do.

Purgatory

Purgatory is something of a transient place. It lies at the crossroads between all the realms and is the place where Earth, Heaven, Hell, the Shadowlands, and the Astral Realm all meet and collide. It's a place of relative quiet, where reflection and consideration are the order of the day. It is not as miserable as Hell is, but neither is it as joyous as heaven. There are few beings which can navigate to Purgatory and almost no one comes here without an express purpose. Purgatory is, on the whole, a place of waiting.

Denizens of Purgatory

• Human Souls
• By far the most numerous, human souls who were neither particularly good nor particularly wicked go to Purgatory. Several religions believe their time in Purgatory is spent waiting for a decision regarding their status and final destination, during which those among the living can offer prayers to beseech a favorable outcome. Others believe Purgatory is a place to wait for loved ones to arrive before moving on together, or where souls rest before reincarnation.
• Monsters and Inhuman Souls
• Within the vast realm of Purgatory there is a section reserved for the souls of creatures which were once human but are not any longer. The souls of vampires, lycanthropes, shifters, and skinwalkers all come here. The Reserve, as it is sometimes called, is not generally a place of shelter or peace as the monstrous souls turn on one another, never able to truly kill each other, and preying in endless cycles in a never ending hunt.

Hell

Hell is a place of torment, of punishment and scourging. Created by God in order to hold the fallen angel Lucifer, it serves as both a prison and a place for the souls unworthy of Heaven or Purgatory to be cleansed of their sins so that they might gain redemption and eventually to retire to their own personal heavens. Hell has an infinite number of layers. As the various Princes of Hell and Archdukes moved away from the center of Hell where Lucifer's prison is, they added new layers and carved fiefdoms out of Hell that they rule over as petty tyrants. The first demons were angels who fell along with Lucifer. The generation after them were souls which were tortured and twisted until they became demonic themselves.

Lucifer remains locked in his prison, isolated and contained, and only able to be contacted through the most powerful of magic.

Denizens of Hell

• Demons
• Hell is the home place of the demonic race, if such a term can be applied to them. Either fallen angels or human souls twisted by centuries of torture, torment, cruelty, abuse, and suffering, these demonic beings roam through the Pit, visiting torture on the human souls in their care. In the last several millennia, no human souls have been released from Hell to ascend to Heaven.
• Human Souls
• Humans which have lived lives full of depravity, vice, or evil are condemned to suffer in Hell until they have paid for their sins. Because time in hell moves at a different rate, a month can seem like a year, a year like a century, and a century like a millennia. Tormented and twisted, the goal of the demons that run Hell is to cause as much pain and suffering as they can. Some demons have the desire to increase the numbers of their kind and select certain souls for special treatment, in order to turn them into demons. This process, known as conversion takes time, but there are certain experts in Hell which can accomplish this transformation more quickly than others.