[✗] [World Lore] Celestial Zeniths

[Johann 1416]

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

Celestial Zeniths

 

 

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Many know of the gaping chasm of Man’s darkness which lays seething upon the antiquated ruins of Aegis, a great and foreverial reminder of the ire of Gods upon the Mortal Plane that is the Abyss. Yet, where there is the pinnacle of Mortality upon this plane, so too do zeniths exist of outer powers that loom the Creator’s fragile plane.  

 

- Excerpt of a chronicle by Wilfred "the Witness"

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Hushed tales and doddering accounts of hoary scholars recount unnatural fonts of celestial and supernal powers that exist upon the grandest of peaks, above clouds where the living world touches the heavens. “Celestial Zeniths”, is the most common descriptor for these phenomena, believed to have been coined by frequent pilgrims to these sites of heavenly prominence. Unlike Voidal nodes where the Veil is thinnest and thus closest to the Void, Celestial Zeniths are where the boundary of the Mortal Plane and the Outer Planes, the rest of the Veil, begins to thin and blur.  It is this obfuscation that gives rise to the receptive properties of Celestial Zeniths, rendering them more susceptible than anywhere upon the Mortal Plane to the magics and influence of greater powers within the Veil, a nexus where otherworldly powers converge be it Voidal, Aengudaemonic or simply Extraplanar. Sparse, remote and little known, concrete knowledge surrounding the existence of these spectacles elude the common descendant beyond theories and suppositions of astute scholars. Historical thesis have linked Celestial Zeniths to certain events of great elevation and impact, such as the Kal'Varak's discovery in Aegis or the first sighting of the Outvoker at the Wyvurn College of Asulon. Setherien's victory over the Apostles upon his mountain lair is supposedly tied its proximity to a Zenith, which was allegedly what granted the Black Wyrm the edge over his Xannic foes.

 

Cosmic and empyrean are words often heard and seen in the retellings of returning pilgrims, who further describe anomalous, otherworldly and sometimes extraplanar phenomena that supposedly manifest in the vicinity of these elusive peaks. In more paramount cases, even time is believed to be warped for those that attempt the ascent unto where the natural laws of the World are weakest and the will of Gods strongest. A conjunction of spatial and otherworldly laws with those of the mortal realm. Only a handful live to tell the tale of what lies upon the Summit, yet no two tales have ever been identical in content and description. The only recurring trend is the prevalence of grand, celestial phenomena; cosmic aurorae, radiant rays of light, among other dazzling, supernal displays that exemplify these nexuses of outer influence. 

 

Those who do not return from their hardy pilgrimages are frequently discounted as slain by the innumerable and everchanging trials that precede the summit, however there exist extraordinary occasions where a greater entity is encountered, and one is never the same again.

 

Spoiler

 

- Celestial Zeniths are places where the boundary between the Mortal plane and the outer planes, in other words the rest of the Veil, thins and blurs. 

- This blurring gives rise to these places being susceptible to the magics and influence of greater beings within the veil, a nexus where celestial powers converge, the greatest culmination of otherworldly powers upon the mortal plane be it Voidal, Aengudaemonic or just extraplanar.

- Celestial Zeniths are usually upon the highest peaks of the world, Aos and Eos, with these peaks being unnaturally tall, so much so they seem to touch the heavens

- Anomalous, otherworldly, and even stellar phenomena are believed to occur in their vicinity, and even time is believed to be warped in some regions of these peaks. Some travellers scale these peaks in days, others in years, strange conjunction of spatial, otherworldly laws with those of the mortal realm

- Polar opposites of abyssal phenomena on the mortal plane, essentially, but different from voidal nodes because these are material and related to the Outer Planes instead of the Void.

- Grand, celestial phenomena at the summit, cosmic aurorae, dazzling, supernal displays, above cloudlines and even farther above the mortal plane. 

- Gods and otherworldly beings can manifest in this divine-mortal in between place while only being loosely bound by the natural laws of the world.

 

 

 

Purpose

 

Just a neat idea I thought I’d think about and write out over the past week after a bout of inspiration came to me. Celestial Zeniths more or less serve as the “divine” equivalent of the Abyss on the Mortal Plane, and where the Abyss is essentially a chasm that goes deep underground I figured its polar opposite ought to be on the highest peaks of the world that touch the heavens. The World Lore itself is kept relatively simple and straightforward for good reason, I did not want to go into too much detail so as to allow future ETs and ST management leeway in drawing from this lore for potential events, which I think they could very well do given the whole “greater powers are the strongest here” premise for these phenomena. Props to Zarsies for hearing me out on the concept and refining it to its currently presentable state.

 

Credits

 

Johann (Author)

Zarsies and Altiar1011 (Conceptualisation)

Kalehart and Gladuos (Consultation)

 

 

[Valannor 6345]

Please let me climb Mount Targon. 

[Zarsies 6027]

[Ryloth 4312]

can i find parthurnaax at the top of one

[Tentoa 1991]

[Slorbin 1774]

so

will it be like the abysses in game but opposite?

will we have giant weird cylinders sticking into the sky?

[BrandNewKitten 2788]

Big fan of this lore. Nice work! 

[squakhawk 7888]

This lore has been denied. You will be sent a forum PM regarding the reasons for denial within the next 24 hours.