As discussed, our unique cosmology was a result of a great division of energy early in our world’s creation… I call this the Divide Primordial, and it relates to Haylene’s formation. The following, of course, is unverifiable, and based primarily on investigations of various Titans… creatures that existed prior to the First Conjunction.
1
In the beginning, there was a singular point where the Astral Plane, rife with portals to the Great Wheel and the realms of gods and belief, came in contact with the Ethereal Plane, the conduit to the elemental planes. Normally, when this happens, the influence of one plane or the other proves dominant, producing a sort of planar gradient, and essentially causing a material world form, like drop of hot wax forming an orb in water.
2 In our case, however, the two planes were essentially balanced, meaning no great flow could occur from one to the other. Rather than a massive orb coalescing, a bubble formed on one side (and presumably the other) that grew to a small size, and essentially crusted over. This small bubble is Haylene… formed on a completely flat plane, and with a bubble of space over that flat expanse in which it can grow.
3
This bubble, of course, is inherently unstable, which is why the primordial forces of our world formed Io and the Dark Moon, and ultimately Titania during the First Conjunction.
4 These moons function as screens… creatures of spirit or the elements can leave, but not enter, preventing our bubble from popping, for lack of a better word. Without them, our limited space would become crowded with planar interlopers, and ultimately overrun us with otherworldly energies.
5 Whether or not these moons are sufficient remains to be seen… they are either slowly draining our world of the plots of fiends and celestials alike, or those same creatures will eventually overwhelm the lunar wards and bring about an end to Haylene as we know.
Whether or not that will happen likely lies in the possible existence of our mirror dimension. There is absolutely no reason that the planar bubble ought form on only one side of the Divide Primoridal… indeed, there are many reasons why it shouldn’t. Every piece of mathematical or arcane evidence points to the existence of a twin world to Haylene somewhere in the multiverse. If it still exists, the study of its divergence from this world would offer tremendous insight into our ultimate fate.
Unfortunately, I must admit that after a century of investigation, I am no closer to finding Haylene’s twin sister. As I continue to eliminate possibilities, I am faced with one grim but enduring theory: the mirror dimension was destroyed, as, one day, ours will likely be.
1 There are seven Titans, each a unique creature described in either the Monster Manual or Tome of Beasts. They are Hraesvelger (a giant, and the only one that actually ages, albeit at a very slow rate), the Elder Brain, the Empyrean, the Kraken, the Tarrasque, the Zaratan, and Acererak (the demilich, the first and only undead created before the First Conjunction).↩
2 A crystal sphere. ↩
3 Essentially, Haylene is not only coterminous with the Astral and Ethereal planes, but the two are coterminous with each other in this land.↩
4 Prior to the construction of Io and the Dark Moon, there was no concept of time in Haylene, and it didn’t full exist as a material world. After those two moons were created, it was still thousands of years before the creation of Titania.↩
5 The Red Witch is describing the Ban of Benlyndor, which prevents celestials, elementals, fiends and even fey from entering Haylene under most circumstances.↩
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