Cosmology of Versura

The world Versura lies within the All-Possible, an endless nothing filled only with possibilities. Fakul, the First and Only, endulged in an endless dream until one day one of his dreams became reality and the world was created. At the end of the War of Creation, he had become intrigued with and enthralled by this reality that refused to be undone by him and thus he decided to protect it by creating the Sky to shield it. The Sky, however, does not protect all of creation, but leaves the Netherworld unprotected.

Versura

The name Versura refers to the part of creation that is enclosed by the Sky and thus protected from the terrors of the All-Possible. Versura is characterized by the balance of the five elements fire, earth, metal, water and wood. In its center, this balance created a temperate and hospitable climate, but the closer you come to the edge of the world, the more dominant one of the elements becomes, depending on the direction you travel in. Versura is home to a multitude of races and nations. The World of Versura is further described in its own article.

The Sky

At the end of the War of Creation, Fakul put the dome-shaped Sky over Versura to protect it from the forces of the All-Possible he had unleashed to undo the world he had created (see War of Creation). The Sky is not a perfect shield, though: countless tiny holes allow small amounts of the essence of the All-Possible to filter into Versura where it is used as arcane power. Behind these holes lies the immeasurable brightness of the All-Possible so they can be seen as stars at night. The brightest star is the Northern Star, also known as Fakul's Eye as it is said that he continues to watch the progess of Versura through this hole.

Divine Domains

The exact location of divine domains is disputed among Versurian scholars. Some say they are build on the outside of the Sky and correspond to certain constellations of the stars. Others think the domains are located within Versura, in the Beyond.

The Border

Where the Sky touches Versura, the forces of the All-Possible flow into the world in large quantities. It is said that even those not trained in the arcane arts can use their mind and imagination to bend reality to their will there.

The All-Possible

"Nothing but possibility" is a description Versurian scholars often give for the All-Possible. Fakul, the First and Only, the Eternal Dreamer, created realities and undid them with his boundless imagination. One day, however, one of his thoughts would not let itself be undone and Versura was created. During the War of Creation, he conjured up his worst thoughts to undo it, but to no avail. Eventually, he became enthralled with the world that had taken a life of its own, independet of his will and he created the sky to protect it. The All-Possible in its pure form remains an endless nothing, impossibly bright, where thoughts simply become a reality.

The Abberant Space

The thoughts that Fakul created to undo creation also have taken a life of their own and continue to try and destroy it. These creatures known as abberants stay close to the Sky, trying to enter Versura through the stars. The Netherworld, not protected by the Sky, however, is easily accessible to them and remains the focus of the abberants' war against creation.

The Netherworld

The "Underside" of Versura is not protected by the Sky and thus subject to constant attacks of the abberants. Unlike Versura, the elements are not in balance here and they continue to wage war against each other as well, leaving it in eternal chaos. The Netherworld is home to both demons and devils; while devils are embodiment of the elemental chaos of the Netherworld, the demons are former abberants who have stopped fighting to destroy creation and started to fight to dominate it.

The Underdark

A vast system of caves and tunnels spans under the earth of Versura all the way down to the Netherworld. Little is known about the Underdark, except that the Drow were banished there at the conclusion of the Fey Invasion and that it is home to shadows.

Parallel Planes

There are several parallel planes of Versura that vaguely mirror it in their appearance.

The Feywild

Home to the fey, the Feywild of Versura is not different from the Feywild of standard D&D cosmology. It should be noted, however, that Elves, Eladrin and Drow, once native to the feywild and one race, have been banished from the Feywild, leading to what the Versurians call the Fey Invasion.

The Betweenlife

Most Versurians believe in rebirth and the existence of this parallel plane (if they knew about it) would prove them right. It appears as a nostalgic version of Versura, seemingly perfect, but without life. It is inhabited by souls whose appearance is that they like the most of their previous lives. While in the Betweenworld, souls remember all their previous lives. Sometimes, the gods will call a soul who has proven worthy in one or more of its lives to their domains to reside there instead of being reborn.

The Dreamworld

The plane of dreams is more than another mirror of Versura. First, it is many mirrors: only that what a Versurian currently dreams about exists here and when two dream about the same things, two versions of it exist. Second, it also encompasses things and places that do not exist in Versura itself, but only in a dream currently dreamt. Only when a dreamer regularly "returns" to a place, his imagination of it becomes somewhat permanent and other dreamers can be drawn there or - if they have some sort of control over their dreams - "go" there.

Comparison to standard D&D cosmology

The cosmology of Versura has differences from the standard D&D cosmology as laid out in the Manual of the Planes as well as correspondences:

• Versura corresponds to the natural world.
• The All-Possible corresponds to the Astral Sea.
• The Abberant Space roughly corresponds to the Far Realm, except that it is actually rooted within existence as a part of the All-Possible.
• The Netherworld corresponds to the Elemental Chaos.
• The Underdark is a plane of its own, located between Versura and the Netherworld. Shadows are native to the Underdark, not the Shadowfell (which has no equivalent in Versura's cosmology).
• The Feywild of Versura is the regular Feywild.
• No correspondence to the Shadowfell exists within the cosmology of Versura. Shadows are native to the Underdark.
• The Betweenworld has no real correspondence in standard D&D cosmology.
• The Dreamworld corresponds to the Plane of Dreams, although it is given the status of a parallel plane withing Versurian cosmology.