Structure of the Multiverse
The multiverse is not an infinite continuum but a vast lattice of isolated universes, each self-contained and anchored in its own cosmic architecture. These immense bubbles of reality, called Reality Spheres or Prime Domains, float in an endless expanse known as Driftspace. Within each sphere lies a complete cosmic order: stars and galaxies suspended in its physical space, and a planar system that includes a Material Plane, elemental and energy-based Inner Planes, divine Outer Planes, and transitive realms such as the Astral and Ethereal.
Driftspace stretches between these universes like a sea between islands. It is neither empty nor inert. Instead, it churns with eddies of unstable magic, fragments of collapsed realities, and ghost-routes once carved by long-lost civilizations. Ancient races like the Koryphai and the Naerids forged navigable paths through this chaos, but their systems now lie broken or buried beneath the tides. At the furthest reaches of Driftspace, reason itself begins to fray. There, the Far Realms press inward—realms where geometry shatters, thought unravels, and reality yields to madness. Beyond even that lies the Void Beyond, a place with no light, no form, and no law. It is the silence beyond creation.
Travel through the multiverse occurs in three primary ways.
Within a single universe, spacefaring vessels glide through stars and worlds using advanced arcane propulsion and resonance-bound hulls. While Galarium is known to enable such feats, no civilization on Eldareth’s Material Plane has yet harnessed it for extraplanar travel. Ships drift along stellar currents, guided by arcane navigators and ley-anchored charts.
Between planes within a given universe, travel relies on stable portals, tuned spells, or great ships capable of slipping between layers of reality as if catching a wind.
But to move between universes—to cross from one Reality Sphere to another—is far more perilous. This is multiversal travel, and it demands ancient beacons, planar navigation matrices, and vessels of immense power. Without these, a ship may drift forever through the unpredictable wilds of Driftspace, or worse, spiral into unmaking.
The Koryphai once spanned the stars using vast Pattern Lattices, bridges of cosmic stability woven between universes. Though many now lie dormant, they formed the backbone of early multiversal passage. The Naerids, arriving later, relied on fragments of these lattices and the guidance of the Axis Shard known as Athrakan. Both peoples used colossal vault-arks—part vessel, part beacon, part sanctuary—to traverse both stellar systems and planar layers.
Today, most mortal civilizations in Eldareth understand only fragments of these truths. The common belief holds that planes are connected, but few grasp that they are nested within sealed spheres of reality. Only the rare scholar or forbidden archive hints at the greater multiversal design.
Driftspace, though once traversed by long-lost civilizations, remains filled with hazards. Collapsing realities, echoes of dead planes, and rogue entities drift alongside the ruins of once-great worlds. Harvester ships—massive, predatory hive-vessels—are said to lurk near dying stars, drawn to magic-rich debris like carrion birds. At the edges, Far Realm breaches shimmer with spirals of impossible light, and the Void Beyond waits in perfect stillness.
Ultimately, each universe is a sealed sphere with its own planes and stars. Spacefaring moves within that universe. Planesfaring slips between the layers of its internal cosmology. Multiversal travel, the rarest and most dangerous, moves between universes through Driftspace. Only the greatest civilizations—like the Koryphai and the Naerids—ever truly mastered the art.