SuperPheemy

Most worlds in the Cosmos are collections of raw elemental material drawn together into a singular mass orbiting the Ætheric Vortex. These worlds are not normally hospitable to most life as is known throughout the cosmos. However, sometimes natives to the appropriate Elemental Realm thrive within these islands in the Æther.

Nearly every system holds at least one world composed of a mélange of all four elemental realms. These worlds, perhaps specially crafted by the Gods for this very purpose, team with life of all types. It is here where mortal beings capable of thought and able to exert their will develop cultures and civilizations. And even though these life-giving worlds contain everything needed to sustain life, a healthy system of worlds in the Æther will have representatives of all Elemental realms travelling in orbits around the Vortex.

Air
Air worlds are cloudy masses of swirling, chaotic storms. In their orbits they boil and clash with themselves in an unending whirl of tempests. Save for the very winds which comprise them, Air Worlds have no real substance. Within their violent horizon, winds reach unthinkable speeds, ripping and tearing at themselves and anything caught within them. Yet, for all of their fury, there are eyes within these endless storms. Islands of calm and stability which can last for moments, or ages depending upon the whims of fate.

Earth
Earth worlds are giant rocks in the Æther. Like enormous mountains drifting in the Ætheric currents, Earth Worlds often hold fortunes in gems, jewels and precious metals. But they are barren places, without water, warmth or so much as a blanket of air, very little grows and thrives here on its own. Still, water, fuel, and air can be imported or conjured and colonies sustained on these rich worlds. Of all the Elemental Worlds, Earth worlds are the most common places for settlements.

Fire
Fire worlds blaze and boil casting light and heat throughout the Ætheric currents. So brilliant, Fire worlds are sometimes mistaken for Gods, and indeed often become homes for Deities of Suns, Fire, Light, and Life. Of all the worlds in the Cosmos, Fire worlds are the most visible, often blinding the residents of other worlds to all else, when their light fills the sky. Within their horizon, Fire worlds are a swirling, unbearable furnace of raw elemental heat. Inside Fire worlds heat and light become so intense that no shadow exists. Only those beings born of the Elemental Realm, or the greatest magic of Gods or Wizards can resist the all-consuming blaze.

Water
Water worlds are shimmering spheres of fluid suspended within the Æther and drifting in their timeless orbits. They are oceans without a floor, and sometimes enormous spherical seas held within a shell of ice. Water worlds can sometimes hold life of their own within their horizons. Sea creatures and merfolk can thrive within the eternal seas, unconstrained by land and never threatened by those bound to the surface. Yet, all is not calm or peaceful within the water worlds. Subsurface currents and storms roar beneath the surface, every bit as violent and destructive as the wrath of Sea Gods but silent and invisible until they pass through.

Arcadian
The Arcadian worlds combine all four elements in one planet. These worlds contain an almost endless variety of seas, mountains, winds, and fire, providing a self-contained world environment where living things can thrive without assistance. Almost unfathomably complex, most sages believe that Arcadian worlds must have been created by the Gods as a home for their children, or as a garden for themselves. Regardless of the origins of the Arcadian worlds, the fact remains that they exist in small numbers, and are the cradles of most living mortal cultures in the Cosmos.

Moons
Some worlds have elemental bodies in orbit around them. The Moons are locked to the Planet they revolve around, and in essence act like smaller versions of the orbiting worlds about the Ætheric Vortex. Moons are nearly always Elemental in nature, and almost never Arcadian bodies. Save for their smaller size, and consequentially lesser influence on the Cosmos, moons feature all of the same characteristics with worlds of the same element. However, moons do differ from their larger cousins in that they regularly pass through the Umbra of the world they orbit. These continuing brushes with the Shadow Realm make moons unique havens for denizens of the Shadow Realm, monsters or fugitive dreams escaping from their twilight home.

The Ætheric currents also carry elemental fragments from the Vortex to the Verge. Known by a host of names reflecting their elemental origin (Comets, Meteors, Asteroids, etc…) these fragments drift through the Cosmos on the Æther. Rarely, these elemental fragments can find a stable orbit around the Vortex or a large world, creating enormous belts and rings of elemental material circling the world or the entire orbit. At times these fragments can fall into the Ætheric Realm through a storm, or the Shadow Realm as they pass through the Umbra, emerging days or ages later, changed by their time outside of the Material Realm. Even more rare are the fragments that escape the Ætheric currents entirely and drift past the Verge into the Astral Sea where they can remain for Eternity or pass between Material Realms, even drifting far into the deepest reaches of the Astral Sea to the Outer Realms themselves.