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World/Depths/The Depths.md

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+The **Depths** are a fundamental part of Lumen’s structure, existing beyond the surface world and the Voidsea. They function as both an afterlife and a physical realm, governed by rules that differ significantly from those of the Overworld.
+
+The Depths surround the world completely. They are not located “below” in a simple spatial sense, but rather exist outside normal reality, intersecting it at points of death, drowning, and catastrophic displacement. Entry into the Depths is irreversible without external intervention.
+
+---
+### Entry and Purpose
+Those who die through combat, execution, or exposure to the Voidsea are drawn into the Depths. Upon entry, the body is lost, and the soul awakens within its confines.
+
+Most souls arrive in the **First Layer**, which serves as the primary point of entry. This is not a judgment in a moral sense, but a consequence of how death interacts with the structure of the Depths. Condemnation through violence or drowning appears to create the conditions necessary for this transition. From there, movement deeper is possible, though rarely intentional and never predictable.
+
+---
+### Structure of the Layers
+The Depths consist of **nine known layers**. These layers are not arranged in a linear or vertical sequence. Distance, direction, and progression do not function in a consistent way. It is possible to pass directly from the surface into deeper layers without ever encountering the First Layer.
+
+Each layer operates according to its own internal logic. Physical laws, time, perception, and causality may differ drastically between layers. There is no confirmed method to reliably navigate from one specific layer to another.
+
+While scholars refer to the layers numerically for convenience, this ordering does not imply hierarchy, depth, or proximity in a spatial sense.
+
+---
+### Nature of the Depths
+The Depths are not inert. Observations and accounts suggest that the environment reacts to presence, intent, and prolonged interaction. The phenomenon is described as resembling _“interacting on a microscopic level with the processes of some slumbering creature.”_ Whether this implies true sentience is unclear.
+
+One prevailing interpretation is that the Depths behave as an extension of the **Drowned Gods**, responding to their dormant influence rather than possessing independent consciousness. Another interpretation holds that the Depths themselves are a system older than the gods, one that they merely inhabit or exploit.
+
+---
+### Time, Decay, and Persistence
+Time within the Depths is unstable. Aging is slowed, halted, or rendered inconsistent depending on location and circumstance. Some individuals remain unchanged for centuries, while others deteriorate rapidly despite minimal exposure.
+
+Death within the Depths does not follow known rules. Destruction of form does not always result in erasure, nor does survival guarantee continuity. Identity, memory, and physical coherence can be altered through prolonged exposure.
+
+---
+### Insanity and Psychological Degradation
+The Depths are the **primary source of insanity** in Lumen. Prolonged exposure to the Depths - regardless of layer - places continuous strain on the mind. This effect is not solely the result of fear or trauma, but appears to be a consequence of existing within a reality that does not align with mortal perception, memory, or causality.
+
+Insanity acquired in the Depths manifests as intrusive thoughts, altered perception, compulsions, emotional detachment, or identity fragmentation. These effects can persist even after return to the Overworld. The deeper one travels, or the longer one remains, the more severe and irreversible these effects tend to become.
+
+---
+### Return to the Overworld
+Escape from the Depths is not achievable through effort alone. A soul may return only if a sufficiently powerful divine entity restores or recreates a body and permits reintegration into the Overworld. 

World/Lumen.md

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+### The Shape of the World
+
+[[The Overworld]] of **Lumen** is divided into large regions called **Luminants**.  
+Luminants function as the continents of this world: massive landmasses with their own climates, cultures, and histories. Travel within a luminant is relatively stable. Travel _between_ them is not.
+
+Separating the luminants is the ocean. Near the coasts, this ocean behaves mostly like a normal sea. Farther out, it thins into something else entirely: the **Voidsea**.
+
+The Voidsea is not simply deep water. It is a liminal space where reality begins to break down. Time behaves inconsistently, matter degrades, and living things struggle to persist. Islands caught within it may become frozen in time, decay into nothing, or drift back toward a luminant centuries later. The Voidsea also acts as a boundary between the surface world and what lies beneath it.
+
+That boundary leads to [[The Depths]].
+
+---
+
+### The Depths and Death
+
+The **Depths** surround the world completely. They exist beneath the ocean, beyond the sky, and past the edges of reality. While often described as an underworld, they are not a single place, but a collection of layered environments, each operating by different rules.
+
+Death in Lumen follows a consistent pattern.
+
+When a person dies, their **physical body collapses into ash**. The soul does not linger in the overworld. Instead, it is pulled downward into the Depths. This happens regardless of belief, status, or intent.
+
+Souls that fall into the Depths are not automatically destroyed. Some wander. Some are claimed by entities that dwell there. Some remain trapped indefinitely. Escape is possible, but not through one’s own effort alone.
+
+To return to the overworld, a soul must have its **body restored or remade by a divine being**, most often a Drowned God or a similarly powerful entity. When this happens, the soul is allowed to return, re-entering the restored body and resuming life on the surface. Without this intervention, return is impossible.
+
+---
+
+### The Song
+
+The Song is not music in the casual sense. It is closer to a **rulebook for reality**.
+
+Everything that resembles magic - mantras, rituals, attunements, enchantments, etc. - comes from interacting with the Song. Rather than creating something from nothing, users of the Song manipulate what already exists: heat, wind, water, motion, force. Skilled individuals learn how to “hear” certain parts of it more clearly than others.
+
+The Song also resonates with living beings. Strong emotional moments, especially the instinct to survive, can carve out unique passages within it. These passages sometimes manifest as **Resonances**, often taking the form of bells or instruments bound to a person’s soul.
+
+Importantly, the Song is not fully controllable. People can influence it, whisper into it, tug at its threads, but no one commands it outright. In that sense, it functions almost like fate.
+
+---
+
+### Attunements
+
+Attunements are the most common and practical way people interact with the Song.
+
+Rather than spells, attunements are **trained manipulations of the environment**, shaped by repeated exposure to a specific “frequency” of the Song. The four foundational attunements - fire, wind, lightning, and ice - emerged long ago and still form the backbone of daily life. Other types of attunements like shadow, iron, lifeweave, light, and blood were artificially made by the various races in Lumen.
+
+While adventurers mostly use attunements for combat, civilians rely on them just as much: preserving food, powering tools, healing wounds, reinforcing structures, or surviving harsh climates. A city without attuned citizens would not function for long.
+
+---
+
+### The Canticlysm and the Tides
+
+Long before the present era, people learned to use the Song.
+
+This period, now called the **Canticlysm**, was marked by rapid advancement. Entire societies were built on Song-powered inventions, and attunements were refined and systematized. For a time, it was a golden age. Sadly, it did not last.
+
+The constant strain on the Song disturbed ancient beings sleeping beneath the world: the **Drowned Gods**. When they stirred, the seas rose. Land was swallowed. The Old World collapsed beneath the waves in a catastrophe remembered as **the Tides**.
+
+---
+
+### The World After the Flood
+
+Lumen is now a scattered world of **luminants and islands**, separated by vast stretches of unstable ocean known as the **Voidsea**. Some islands drifted back from the depths of that sea after centuries of frozen time; these are called **Driftlands**.
+
+Above the surface, a strange phenomenon called **Voidfog** circles the world, bending light and obscuring the sky.
+
+---
+
+### Gods, Celestials, and the Divine
+
+The divine in Lumen is fractured.
+
+The **Drowned Gods** are ancient entities bound to the ocean and the Depths. Their partial awakening in the past caused the Tides, which drowned the Old World. Most of them are currently **dormant**, not dead. Their continued sleep is critical: if even one were to fully awaken, the resulting strain on the world would be enough to end it entirely.
+
+Despite this, the Drowned Gods still exert influence. Their presence warps reality in subtle ways, especially near the Depths and the Voidsea. They are capable of granting power, reshaping bodies, and restoring souls, though such acts are never without consequence. They are not aligned with mortal morality and are rarely benevolent by human standards.
+
+Opposing them are the **Celestials**. These beings are associated with the sky, distant stars, and observation rather than direct intervention. Unlike the Drowned Gods, Celestials do not reside within the world or beneath it, and their influence is indirect. They act through intermediaries, artifacts, visions, and long-term manipulation rather than overt displays of power.
+
+The Celestials and the Drowned Gods are **actively hostile to one another**. This conflict is not fought through open warfare, but through containment, interference, and denial. The Celestials seek to prevent the full awakening of the Drowned Gods, while the Drowned Gods resist confinement and influence events in ways that push the world closer to collapse.
+
+---
+
+### People of Lumen
+
+Lumen is home to a **wide variety of races**, many of which have adapted, physically or culturally, to the flooded world. Ordinary humans exist, but they are rare. Most “human-like” people descend from altered lineages shaped by the Song, the Tides, or older forces.
+
+Despite their differences, most peoples of Lumen share the same core struggles: survival, territory, belief, and control over the future.
+
+---
+
+### Factions and Conflict
+
+The world is not unified.
+
+Kingdoms, authorities, companies, cults, and ideological movements all compete for influence. Some seek order and control. Others pursue knowledge of the Song, divine favor, or simple profit.
+
+Lumen is **politically unstable**, and the scars of the past are still open. Every major faction believes they are preventing another catastrophe in some way, and that often leads to clashes.

World/Overworld/The Overworld.md

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+The **Overworld** refers to all parts of Lumen that exist outside the Depths and the Boundary. This includes the surface of the world, its skies, its oceans, and the inhabited landmasses known as luminants. Nearly all mortal life exists here, and this is where most travel, conflict, and history takes place. While the Overworld was once a continuous world, the Tides fractured it into scattered landmasses separated by unstable seas. Civilization persists, but movement, communication, and political unity are difficult to maintain.
+
+---
+### Geography and Environment
+
+The Overworld consists primarily of **luminants**, which function as continents. Each luminant has its own climate patterns, cultures, and dominant powers. Between them lies the ocean, which gradually gives way to the Voidsea the farther one travels from land.
+
+The sky above the Overworld is partially obscured by **Voidfog**, a rotating atmospheric layer that bends light and limits long-distance observation. Stars and celestial bodies are visible only intermittently, contributing to the limited influence of Celestials on daily mortal affairs.
+
+---
+### Major Luminants
+
+#### Etrean Luminant
+
+The Etrean Luminant is home to the **Etrean people**, specifically the City of Etris and the Isle of Vigils, containing Etrea's military force. It is comparatively stable, with defined borders, entrenched traditions, and a strong martial culture. While less fragmented than other regions, it is not isolated from global conflict.
+
+---
+
+#### Eastern Luminant
+
+The Eastern Luminant is the most **politically dense and volatile** region of the Overworld. It contains numerous important locations such as Summer Isle, Miner’s Landing, Fort Merit, Meteor Isle, and Greathive Aratel. Due to its accessibility and resources, nearly every major faction maintains a presence here. Espionage, proxy conflicts, economic sabotage, and covert warfare are common, often overlapping in the same territories.
+
+---
+
+#### Central Luminant
+
+The Central Luminant is controlled primarily by the **Central Authority**, an expansionist power focused on regulation, standardization, and control. It is heavily fortified and bureaucratic, with strict oversight of attunement use, trade, and population movement. Travel here is possible but monitored, and foreign influence is often suppressed unless it benefits the Authority directly.
+
+---
+
+#### Western Luminant
+
+The Western Luminant is dominated by the **Hundred Legions**, a militarized society organized around discipline, conquest, and long-standing martial tradition. Civilian life exists, but it is structured around the needs of the legions.
+
+While less fragmented than the Eastern Luminant, the West is highly aggressive in foreign policy and has historically clashed with the Central Authority and other expansionist forces.
+
+---
+
+#### Southern Luminant
+
+The Southern Luminant was once a major center of civilization. It is now **almost entirely destroyed**.
+
+Much of it was lost during the Tides, including the city of Celtor, which was dragged beneath the sea. What remains are scattered ruins, partially submerged landmasses, and unstable territories that border the Voidsea. Few permanent settlements exist, and most expeditions here are temporary, dangerous, and motivated by salvage or forbidden knowledge.
+
+---
+
+#### Northern Luminant
+
+Very little is known about the Northern Luminant.
+
+What information exists suggests an **extremely cold** environment, with conditions hostile to most forms of life. Expeditions are rare, and permanent settlements are either nonexistent or extremely isolated. Much of the region remains unexplored, making it a source of speculation, myth, and lost history.