Three Elements (Tirr Supplement)
Three Elements[edit]
In the world of Tirr, that which makes a deity is not something simply in-born. It is not a pre-existing natural state or any predisposition, but rather a collection of circumstances, which, in the event that all happen to be present and true, begets the generation of divinity.
The are three types of primordial elements, researched extensively only by the goddess of balance, Mana, which exist prior to all known living creatures, divine or otherwise. In all living things, these three items are present, in some way or form, or else there can be no sentient creature. Creatures which have some, but not all, of these elements are lesser beings, or automatons. The three elements are known as Life, Light, and Ideals.
Mana is recorded to have theorized that these elements, the fundamental building blocks of all sentient life, and the one common thread shared by both mortal and deity alike, could have possibly come from some type of advanced being that came before the current set of deities that inhabit the Deific Sphere; A precursor to Tirr's deities or perhaps something greater.
Life[edit]
Life is the element that dictates the biological shape. All entities in the Spheres that are made of organic material are composed of this material. The few untainted samples that exist are cared for in the Deific Sphere by Fate, while Mana is rumored to have smuggled some along with her when she was exiled along with the Aesir.
By its lonesome, and without any effects on the matter, Life appears as a viscous, amorphous material, with no smell and a vague appearance. It has often been suggested that its appearance is not unlike flesh without a brain to move it, and without stimuli to affect it. It is simply there and without any exposure, it does nothing.
That said, when exposed to both Light and Ideals, it begins to rapidly take shape, slowly evolving and taking forms in accordance with the many different forces that are flowing through it. It is in this way that the deities of Tirr were formed; when in the Deific Sphere in the Age of Myths, all three of these elements were abundant, which provided the basis for deities to form.
Light[edit]
The Light is often described as a form of radiation when speaking to Mana, who is the leading expert on the subject. It appears as a force capable of passing through both Life and Ideals, and often is accompanied by a faint glow. Despite sounding as if the force is abundant and omnipresent in the Deific Sphere, it is not; It has a single source, and therefore is referred to, singularly. The Light was originally discovered by Sympatheia within a planar stratum (Essentially, a folded layer of space compressed between others that intersected with the realm), otherwise known as a Coterminous Demiplane. The stratum eventually folded out of existence when the Light was later removed by Sympatheia.
The Light has been observed to have an noticeable and extreme effect on the other two elements, Life and Ideals; Notably, when Life is exposed to the Light, it begins to morph wildly, in a wild, cancerous form. When applied to Ideals, the ideals begin to come to life, repelling unlike Ideals, and attracting similar ones. It is only when both the Light and Ideals are present that the Life manages to restrain itself and resemble more common forms.
In this way, the Light seems to have a property that causes other elements to evolve and provides them with driven motivation. There is no known impediment that the Light can be restricted by, though the Pantheon has theorized that at least one must exist, as the Light was lost and has not affected mortals since Sympatheia took it to Tirr's Material Plane.
Ideals[edit]
Ideals are a type of disembodied will, so theorized Mana, that have separated themselves down into single, seamless thoughts. The Goddess of Balance suggested that perhaps these were the wills of a predecessor race that somehow ceased to exist, and has also theorized that they possibly belong to a pre-existing and unknown Overdeity, and have just happened to cause the life found in the world of Tirr.
These unseen ideals drift throughout everything, and are most present in all living things. They have very different natures, and each individual item can be a different ideal. A common theme exists in ideals in that they are largely based on elemental natures or traits that biological entities exhibit, such as emotions or philosophies. The key difference between deities and mortals are split between Light and Ideals. Mortals are not exposed to nearly as much of the former as deities were in the Deific Sphere during the Age of Myths, and therefore have not been able to evolve and develop Divine Ranks. On the contrary, Deities were exposed to much more of the Light, and over a longer period of time, causing their ideals to become stronger and reject other dissimilar ideals, creating rather partisan, extreme, and unmalleable personalities, unlike the practical mindsets of mortals who were exposed to far less.
Back to Main Page → 3.5e Homebrew → Campaign Settings → Tirr Campaign Setting