The Athria Sphere

The Spheres are mysterious places and haven’t always been as easy to reach as they currently are. Subjects of stories and legends to the people of Elandra there is little known and confirmed about them and their inhabitants and so the known information is varied. Discovering secrets of the Sphere and interacting with their inhabitants is designed to have an exploration element.

The Realm of Echoes and Necrotic Reflections

Athria is the sphere where death leaves its indelible mark, a place where shadows mingle with the echoes of lives once lived. It is not a realm of pure creation but of reflection and transformation. When a mortal dies, their essence ascends to the Spirit Sphere, but a fragment of their existence remains within Athria, an imperfect reflection moulded by the sphere’s energies. This is where memory and mortality intertwine.

This reflection, known as a Shade, is not a complete being, but a pliable impression formed using the blueprint of the deceased and the very fabric of Athria’s essence. These Shades, unless called upon for purposes in the mortal sphere by Athrian rites and weavings, are subjected to a perpetual cycle of labor, tending desolate fields under a perpetually stormy sky, or casting nets into a shadowed sea. Their forms are made of a chilling substance, a sort of “un-life,” which shimmers like starlight of the dead, suggested by scholars to be condensed memories and necrotic energy. When their purpose is fulfilled, or more likely when their connection to the mortal world fades, they Sublimate, their remnants merging with the very green mist that covers Athria like fabric until the vapour merges with the land to be churned by the next wave of Shades.

The landscape of Athria is in flux, shifting with the ebb and flow of the mortal world and the memories it holds. Echoes of past lands are said to linger in fractured forms. Recent communiqués from the “underdwellers” speak of “Duchies of the Obsidian Expanse,” yet details on any social structure remain sparse and shrouded in mystery.

The Magic of Athria: Echoes and Necromancy

The magic of Athria revolves around the manipulation of the power and the echoes of death:

• Aspect Walking: This practice taps into the very essence of death, enabling practitioners to take on forms reminiscent of death itself, or to command powers of necrotic energies.
• Shade Communion: The core magic of Athria, this involves directly interacting with the Shades of the deceased, either for information, or to influence the present.
• Necrotic Siphoning: This magic is about the transfer of energy. The necrotic energy of death can be taken from any vessel, even a living one, and channeled into another, often used for the creation of constructs or animating the dead.
• Reminiscence Flow: This magic is about the siphoning of skills and memories lost in time in Athria and flowing them into a new target or vessel, Using their knowledge of history an Athrian weaver can gather memories which within hold skills and memories and bestow them upon themselves or their creations.

Denizens of Athria

Within the sphere of Athria reside diverse entities, collectively known as “underdwellers,” their forms shaped by death and memory.

Vampires

“The first reflections of Athria itself, born from the chaotic mists of the sphere, these powerful undead beings rule over the Shades of the land. Bound to Athria, they wield its power with brute force and manipulate its essence to their will. These are not beings of life or death, but the manifestation of Athria’s essence given form, each with their own whims, goals, and power. They see themselves as the rightful rulers of this realm, using the Shades as mere resources to fuel their existence and prove their superiority over the living and the dead.”

Vampires are not “born to death,” but emerge from the chaotic, raw potential of Athria itself. They are the first Shades to form from the green mist, the first to be made sentient by the energy and will of the realm, they are reflections of Athria itself.

Liches

Athrian weavers and mages, the Liches are beings who have found a way to defy death. Through deep studies of Athrian magic, and the secrets of the shades, they have discovered how to shackle their Shade and Soul to their body or a carefully crafted phylactery. Driven by an insatiable thirst for knowledge, they delve into the lost histories of Athria, seeking forgotten texts, and ancient secrets. While they retain the ability to travel freely in the mortal world, they are often found within the lost memories of Athria, carving out a home within the fractured landscape of the sphere. Each piece of history is a treasure to them, as they understand the power and potential that lies within what once was.”

Shades

The most numerous, Shades are the basis for most Athrian rituals. These reflections can be used to speak with the departed, to animate corpses, and to gather knowledge known only to the deceased. They are essentially imprints of a mortal’s life, mirroring their habits, emotions, and experiences. While generally passive, the stormy nature of Athria can sometimes distort these shades, making their actions erratic.

The nation of Morvalis considers harnessing Shades for their deceased a sacred duty, a form of patriotic mercy. They believe that while the spirit has returned to the Gods, the memory of the individual deserves dignity and purpose beyond the drudgery of Athria, so they build vessels for them to occupy, returning them to their own people.

Kairos uses Shades in a more detached form of reverence, adding the memories and personalities of their heroes to the Kolossi. The Kolossi are animated through forge magic, but the addition of the shade, gives the statue personality, and instinct to better understand their revered place in the nation.

Rashketh

The Rashketh are the most dangerous, beings who have clung to their complete essence, becoming imprisoned in Athria rather than following the natural progression of death. Many are consumed and lost, but some, through devotion, or through the strength of their will, transform into sentient beings within the sphere, yet they are still cut off from the Spirit Sphere. Some are driven mad by rage and despair, while others become warped enforcers of their former ideals. Their primary desire is escape, making them unpredictable and dangerous to summon.

Ethereals

Ethereals are fragments of spirit and emotion, seemingly captured at the point of death. They are raw expressions of feeling and are volatile in their interaction, not often useful for Athrian Weavers, as they cannot be shaped into constructs.

Quick Reference Guide

• Athria: The sphere of death’s echoes and necrotic reflections, not creation but transformation. Mortals leave behind “Shades” (imperfect reflections) upon death, a copy of who they were.
• Shades: The most common denizens of Athria. They are memory copies of the deceased, used in rituals to communicate, animate corpses, and gather knowledge. They normally perform endless tasks until their “purpose” fades and they Sublimate.
• Rashketh: Dangerous beings who clung to their essence, becoming trapped instead of moving on to the Spirit Sphere. Driven by despair, rage and often a desire to escape Athria, making them unpredictable.
• Ethereals: Volatile fragments of spirit and emotion, captured at death. Too unstable for most Athrian magic.
• Magic of Athria: Manipulates death’s echoes and power:
  • Aspect Walking: Taking on death-like forms and necrotic powers.
  • Shade Communion: Interacting with Shades for information or influence.
  • Necrotic Siphoning: Transferring necrotic energy for constructs or animation.
  • Reminiscence Flow: Siphoning lost skills/memories from Athria’s past and bestowing them on others.

• Vampires (Athrian): Powerful undead emerging directly from Athria’s raw energy and Chaotic Mist. View themselves as rulers, using Shades as resources. Embodiments of Athria’s essence, not simply the “undead.”
• Liches: Athrian mages who cheat death by binding their Shade/Soul to a body/phylactery. Driven by knowledge, they dwell within Athria’s lost memories and fractured landscape, seeking forgotten lore.
• The Landscape: The landscape of Athria is ever changing with the echo of the Mortal Realm, with new Duchies and lands always at a constant change.