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Thread: The Realms of Istaria

  1. #1
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    Default The Realms of Istaria

    Quote Originally Posted by PatcherTips.txt in '\Istaria\resources'
    The Prime is the center point of the Istarian universe and the convergence point for all energies of the Realms.
    The Planar Plateau is a 2-dimensional plane on which all of the Realms orbit the Prime.
    The Prime Ring is another name for the Inner Realms, those Realms that touch the Prime directly.
    The Inner Realms are Realms that most closely orbit the Prime, often touching it directly. Traditional they are the oldest and most stable of the Realms.
    The Inner Realms consist of the Realms of Fire, Water, Air, Earth, Life, Spirit, Blight and Energy.
    The Outer Realms are realms that reside far from the Prime and often have irregular or inconsistent orbits making them difficult to see or reach at times.
    The Outer Realms consist of the Realms of Nature, Storm, Bounty, Expanse, Order, Chaos, Light, Shadow, Dawn and Twilight.
    The Realm of Void is not actually a Realm, but rather the space between the Realms. It is the emptiness in which the Prime and other Realms exist.
    The Realm of Life is one of the Inner Realms and one of the most closely tied to the Prime. During the Age of the Sorcerer two great focal points were constructed; the Cleric's Tower and the Tower of Healing.
    Among other interesting lore hidden in the ancient PatcherTips.txt file, this always interested me the most. I thought I'd share it here to any other lore nuts like me.

    It seems that Istaria's universe is constructed as a 3D space within a 2D one, pieced together by multiple realms. I wonder what would happen if one realm were to be utterly destroyed. Let's say... fire. Would all fire cease to exist, or is the Realm of Fire just the homeland of flame?

  2. #2

    Default Re: The Realms of Istaria

    Quote Originally Posted by Racktor View Post
    I wonder what would happen if one realm were to be utterly destroyed. Let's say... fire. Would all fire cease to exist, or is the Realm of Fire just the homeland of flame?
    If we have to destroy a realm to find out, can we make it the realm that blight comes from? Fire is useful, blight is... blight.

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    Default Re: The Realms of Istaria

    Quote Originally Posted by awdz View Post
    If we have to destroy a realm to find out, can we make it the realm that blight comes from? Fire is useful, blight is... blight.
    realm of blight that's where the withered aegis come from it's on a different plane, there is some quests that talk about it. That is were the kwellens, Aegrors, Abominations, Fyakki, Vexator, etc. come from including some really bad dudes that mentioned in lore. But even the Realm of Blight has a purpose destroying one realm would create unbalance. But the realm of blight is a corrupt place so that can go either way.
    Last edited by Spyrioyo; February 25th, 2016 at 02:04 AM.

  4. #4

    Default Re: The Realms of Istaria

    "The Outer Realms consist of the Realms of Nature, Storm, Bounty, Expanse, Order, Chaos, Light, Shadow, Dawn and Twilight."

    Many names of the outer realms were also game shards. ( Long Live Twilight )
    100 / 100 / 100 / 100 Lunus
    "Mythclaws" Saris

  5. #5

    Default Re: The Realms of Istaria

    Quote Originally Posted by ZyrimShadowheart View Post
    realm of blight that's where the withered aegis come from it's on a different plane, there is some quests that talk about it. That is were the kwellens, Aegrors, Abominations, Fyakki, Vexator, etc. come from including some really bad dudes that mentioned in lore. But even the Realm of Blight has a purpose destroying one realm would create unbalance. But the realm of blight is a corrupt place so that can go either way.
    it's pretty much stated by Ryson Stormbringer that the Realm of Blight is the polar opposite of Energy, (the artifact was concentrated Energy...magic...stuff, which is why it did what it did to the invasion of Tazoon) so I'm guessing those two (are supposed to) keep eachother in check a bit, remove blight from the equation and Energy could go rampant (artifact splodin' all over the place!)

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    Default Re: The Realms of Istaria

    Quote Originally Posted by meepsa View Post
    it's pretty much stated by Ryson Stormbringer that the Realm of Blight is the polar opposite of Energy, (the artifact was concentrated Energy...magic...stuff, which is why it did what it did to the invasion of Tazoon) so I'm guessing those two (are supposed to) keep eachother in check a bit, remove blight from the equation and Energy could go rampant (artifact splodin' all over the place!)
    I think I have to agree with you meepsa. I thought so all the realms are needed. Destroying one can throw everything off. But that doesn't mean it's the shard. The shard is just named after them.

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    Default Re: The Realms of Istaria

    Quote Originally Posted by meepsa View Post
    it's pretty much stated by Ryson Stormbringer that the Realm of Blight is the polar opposite of Energy, (the artifact was concentrated Energy...magic...stuff, which is why it did what it did to the invasion of Tazoon) so I'm guessing those two (are supposed to) keep eachother in check a bit, remove blight from the equation and Energy could go rampant (artifact splodin' all over the place!)
    That's.. a really interesting thought. I didn't even consider that.

    It makes sense as to why the combined forces of the Prime don't seem to have the goal of destroying the blight realm itself instead of its invading armies. Though I'm not sure if there even ever was a chance to go the realm of blight... (that'd be an interesting dungeon/area)

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    Default Re: The Realms of Istaria

    Quote Originally Posted by Racktor View Post
    That's.. a really interesting thought. I didn't even consider that.

    It makes sense as to why the combined forces of the Prime don't seem to have the goal of destroying the blight realm itself instead of its invading armies. Though I'm not sure if there even ever was a chance to go the realm of blight... (that'd be an interesting dungeon/area)
    Hehehe yes it would Rektor, to enter it. The realm of blight is not bad just some of the inhabitants are.

  9. #9

    Default Re: The Realms of Istaria

    The Prime is the center point of the Istarian universe and the convergence point for all energies of the Realms.
    The Planar Plateau is a 2-dimensional plane on which all of the Realms orbit the Prime.
    The Prime Ring is another name for the Inner Realms, those Realms that touch the Prime directly.
    The Inner Realms are Realms that most closely orbit the Prime, often touching it directly. Traditional they are the oldest and most stable of the Realms.
    The Inner Realms consist of the Realms of Fire, Water, Air, Earth, Life, Spirit, Blight and Energy.
    The Outer Realms are realms that reside far from the Prime and often have irregular or inconsistent orbits making them difficult to see or reach at times.
    The Outer Realms consist of the Realms of Nature, Storm, Bounty, Expanse, Order, Chaos, Light, Shadow, Dawn and Twilight.
    The Realm of Void is not actually a Realm, but rather the space between the Realms. It is the emptiness in which the Prime and other Realms exist.
    The Realm of Life is one of the Inner Realms and one of the most closely tied to the Prime. During the Age of the Sorcerer two great focal points were constructed; the Cleric's Tower and the Tower of Healing.
    I tried to represent the Planar Plateau with the Inner Realms around the Prime with "Paint" (not the Outer Realms cause it would have been too difficult for me as I'm not a great drawer ^^) and here's what I did:



    Orange: Fire
    Blue: Water
    Light purple: Air
    Green: Earth
    Brown: Blight
    Yellow: Energy
    Purple: Spirit
    Light blue: Life
    Black: Void (I read on the Lexica it is the Rift)

    Each Realm is in front of its opposite.

    At first I placed Fire, Water, Air and Earth, then I decided to place Life between Earth and Water (cause I think they are linked) and it's opposite, Spirit, between Fire and Air.
    I had to place the last 2 Realms and thought it was more logical to draw Energy between Air and Water (lightning, cloud,wind, rain...) and next to Life (as Energy is closely linked to Life in Istaria, mainly for Gifted).
    Finally, I placed Blight between Fire and Earth.

    Now here's how I think they're orbiting and influencing the Prime:

    Nowadays, the Fire Realm is the closest to the Prime because the Fiery Rift, that is a sliver of the Fire Realm, could be reached through the Gate of Embers.
    My theory is that once a Realm is close enough to the Prime and touch it, it can be temporarily reached through the Gate of Embers (like 8 000 B.R. when Drulkar guided Dragons from the Realm of Fire to the Prime when they still were spirits of fire).
    If I'm right, the next Realm that could be reached by the Gate of Embers is the Realm of Blight.

    Another possibility would be that the Realms are orbiting from left to right and it would explain how it was possible for Torrin Macalir to summon blighted creatures at ~250 B.R..
    Last edited by SuHuz; March 5th, 2016 at 02:50 PM.
    SuHuz Fieryclaw, Grand Master Dragon Crafter (Order)

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    Default Re: The Realms of Istaria

    SuHuz, that is probably the one of the most most awesome headcanons/theories I've ever heard about this game. I'm not even joking, that makes a lot of sense.

    The only thing I have to wonder would be whether or not a portal can keep being open after the realm stops overlapping (Fiery Rift isn't going anywhere and we still can port to the Rift). Maybe the portals remain open no matter the distance, but they can only be opened at opportune moments like this?

  11. #11

    Default Re: The Realms of Istaria

    Quote Originally Posted by Racktor View Post
    SuHuz, that is probably the one of the most most awesome headcanons/theories I've ever heard about this game. I'm not even joking, that makes a lot of sense.
    I wasn't expecting such a compliment, thank you very much Racktor.

    This lore really looks like Norse mythology/Thor-Marvel:
    The universe is made of 9 worlds that are connected by Yggdrasil's branches, the World Tree.
    Midgard, the Earth/Human's world, is the middle realm and energies from all other realms are converging there, and you can travel from Asgard, the gods' realm, to Midgard thanks to the Bifröst, the rainbow bridge (there's one from Druid Tower to Aubadrine ).



    If we add the Prime to the Inner Realms...we have 9 Realms.

    Quote Originally Posted by Racktor View Post
    The only thing I have to wonder would be whether or not a portal can keep being open after the realm stops overlapping (Fiery Rift isn't going anywhere and we still can port to the Rift). Maybe the portals remain open no matter the distance, but they can only be opened at opportune moments like this?
    The Void is a boundary between the Realms, like space between planets, and is always in contact with the Prime. The Rift may be a tiny part of the Void, the closest one.

    As to the Fiery Rift (in red), it may have broken off from the Realm of Fire and caught by the Prime's gravity due to it's low bulk, like a comet by the Sun's gravity, and is now constantly orbiting close to the Prime, like the Moon with the Earth, I've made a better drawing with something that really looks like a ring to represent it:

    Last edited by SuHuz; March 5th, 2016 at 07:39 PM.
    SuHuz Fieryclaw, Grand Master Dragon Crafter (Order)

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    Default Re: The Realms of Istaria

    You're welcome. ^^

    Quote Originally Posted by SuHuz View Post
    The Void is a boundary between the Realms, like space between planets, and is always in contact with the Prime. The Rift may be a tiny part of the Void, the closest one.

    As to the Fiery Rift (in red), it may have broken off from the Realm of Fire and caught by the Prime's gravity due to it's low bulk, like a comet by the Sun's gravity, and is now constantly orbiting close to the Prime, like the Moon with the Earth, I've made a better drawing with something that really looks like a ring to represent it:

    Yeah sorry, I realised the Void wasn't specifically a realm and I edited my post to remove my questions about it out, but I must've left that bit in. More meant to ask 'what happens to the Fiery Rift?'

    That would make sense, though - would also make sense as to why we can't seem to access the rest of the Realm of Fire from that one rift. After all, wouldn't ancient dragons want to try to find Drulkar and their ancestral homeland in the Realm of Fire once the Fiery Rift opened? But if it's only a 'sliver', a little satellite, that'd make more sense.

  13. #13
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    Default Re: The Realms of Istaria

    Depends. After all it's the fiery 'rift.'

    Elemental and other energies can certainly be manipulated, as seen in the mage/mystic spells. It is entirely possible, therefore, that the Fiery Rift is simply an area where the realm of fire has spilled over - not so much a planet metaphor, but an ocean one. What we have are the deposits of fire (like deposits of sand creating beaches) on a part of the Rift/Void.

    I personally like that last part of the hidden message the most: it means that the eight towers of magic are in fact elemental anchors which help to draw energy from their respective realms to our world. But, why are they called Towers of Magic, then? Simple: bipeds draw their energy directly from the Realms. Therefore, having those conduits makes magic easier and allows for the rise of the mages and with it, biped dominance throughout Istaria up until they blew it all up. /insert Charleston Heston

    As yet, we haven't visited another actual realm (though the rift is referred to as the Realm of None, it's technically not a realm in the sense of all the others). Unfortunately, what this little message doesn't do is tell us much about our own realm, the Realm of the Prime. While it is a convergence point of all the energies, it doesn't explain what Prime is - is it actually all the elements combined into one pure substance, capable of being shifted into any other and therefore extremely volatile? And if so, why would a god of fire ask his children to become one with an element that encompasses everything, including his polar opposite (being water)? This is why I've preferred the original lore a bit better, as it allows me to treat the prime as unbound energy - primordial stuff that has the same properties of shifting into any other element, but not a consequence of all elements. It gives the gods more reason to come here and terraform as opposed to adapting, which is what Drulkar and his children chose to do, which is why dragons can use prime.

    That said, the original lore was never thought out well, codified, or delivered in any particular way. The fact that we find this in a hidden text file is pretty much exemplary of what I mean. It does make for fun conversations though. Love the artwork. I don't know if there's any rotation of the Prime itself going on like is displayed in the picture, but wouldn't it be nice to have months named after the planes, as a result of the rotation causing a yearly cycle?
    Maekrux Vythulhar, the Blue Phoenix
    "Resurgam!"

  14. #14

    Default Re: The Realms of Istaria

    Quote Originally Posted by meepsa View Post
    it's pretty much stated by Ryson Stormbringer that the Realm of Blight is the polar opposite of Energy, (the artifact was concentrated Energy...magic...stuff, which is why it did what it did to the invasion of Tazoon) so I'm guessing those two (are supposed to) keep eachother in check a bit, remove blight from the equation and Energy could go rampant (artifact splodin' all over the place!)
    Wait do i remember this wrong? I thought Ellean got the artifact out of the Rift? Correct me if i`m mistacen my ARoP is so long ago now XD.

    "If being of fire means blind arrogance and the elevation of violence above reason, then let me be of water!"

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