WORLDS

The Dominion of the Angels, Heaven, is a place of light, of great heavenly fires, of beauty and goodness. Evil cannot enter heaven, not without a pure heart in its possession, which is how demons have entered heaven before. They take the form of a human who is pure of heart to enter, but to the fortune of heaven, such impurity cannot stay within a pure heart for long without corrupting or eventually destroying their hosts. Only love of a pure kind, one without lust, may exist here.

The Dominion of the Angels is a truly beautiful paradise where the virtuous roam and perfection is achieved. Fountains of alabaster spout everlasting, clear, sparkling water. The greenery shines brilliantly, the clouds a warm white glow. It is a land of milk and honey, where ambrosia and nectar is the food and people will never grow hungry. There is no poverty, no hunger, no greed, just peace. Just light and agreement.

The structure of rule in the Dominion of Angels is one where corruption is meant to not enter. It is obvious how many checks and balances there are in decisions and how every virtue must be used in decision making. The Atrium, as the ruling court is called, is open to angels of all ranks. Justice calls are also made by the Atrium. The King and Queen of the Dominion of Angels are at top, heading the court. Below them are the seven Virtues, and below them are everyone else. Of course, everyone is seen as equals, and votes count equally, regardless of rank.

You can see a theme of alabaster and platinum used in the Dominion of Angels. Silver and gold is frequently used as well. Things are not meant to look of excess, and so a minimalistic approach to the estates are used. Even the palace where the royals live is not too embellished. Every Virtue has his/her own estate as well. To make up for how simple things look, the buildings are of French architecture, the palace an architectural beauty with a sprinkle of Greek influence.

In short, the Dominion of Angels is a paradise that strives towards perfection. Those who are discontent with the fact that there is no social mobility unless a Virtue or a royal falls are the ones that fall, but there really is absolutely no reason to cover the higher ranks. After all... isn’t this paradise?

The Dominion of the Demons, Hell, is a place of darkness, a cold, dark place where evil resides. If the Dominion of Angels is warmed by heavenly fires, the Dominion of Demons is chilled by the coldness of their existences. To a human, the cold air would be difficult to get used to, but to a demon, this is but their natural habitat. Good cannot enter this place without corruption. Pure and true love cannot exist here, for the only love here is by source of lust.

The Dominion of Demons resembles human society more closely, a human society where people are not servants to a cause but servants to themselves. Social inequalities in this society are very apparent. The higher ranked live the most extravagant lives, in their mansions and estates. The royals live in the castle in the Citadel, the Citadel the sort of “capital” settlement where the higher ranking demons tend to reside and some of the luckier demons that are able to cheat their way up. The closer you live to the castle, referred to as the Praesidium, the more comfortable your lifestyle and richer you are to be. The royals live in the Praesidium and it is the life that the greediest of humans strive for. The Sins live in their own grand estates. Unlike the serenity of the Dominion of Angels, revelry and noise is not a stranger, for great celebrations and showcases of gluttony are common. Architecture tends to be Nordic in appearance, ironic due to Nordic architecture’s simplicity. If you aren’t living in the Citadel, you’re in a village-esque settlement.

In terms of ruling structure, it is all a bureaucracy where corruption and cheating is meant to happen. In fact, it can be argued without the cheating and exploitation, nothing would function. In the same structure as heaven, the royals preside at top, then the Sins, and then everyone else. But this time, no one is equal and decisions are cheated and bribed, in a similar fashion to what humans do to themselves. It isn’t uncommon to see the royals abuse their power to keep things in line. Rebellions had been common in the times of old, but like humans, they learn, and they learn that under the table deception can be the most damaging.

The Dominion of the Demons is a cold place, fitting for the cold souls that roam there.

In between these two realms is the neutral Dominion of the Fallen, Purgatory, where Fallen Angels are kept, barred away from Heaven and Hell. At first glance, it appears as though it is abandoned. A dense forest between everything, as if it were a place but at the same time not. Mountains of “junk” taking over what little meadows there are, the contents are trinkets that contain the dreams of humans that were tossed aside. Rivers flow freely throughout the realm, the water a strange shade of brown. It isn’t uncommon to see items floating along, washed away from the piles and ending up on the banks. The sky is painted a somber grey, the nights browned with the thick air. Fog blankets the land, as if it were meant to be a comfort. A lonely, quiet place, though not of the comforting quiet of Heaven.

The Dominion of the Fallen is the closest of the realms to Earth, and it isn’t a strange sight to see a human become trapped there, usually after they die. In the Dominion of the Angels and Dominion of the Demons, humans aren’t typically seen with angels. However, there is no separation or distinction here. Once a human finds their way there, they can never return to Earth (though there are loopholes), doomed to roam the forest for the rest of eternity unless they find their way. Human souls walk alongside Fallen Angels, angels that have been tainted and have fallen from grace, or demons whose cold hearts have cracked and have been forcefully ascended to this neutral stage. There are no monsters to defend yourself from here, but there are those human souls that have been lost for far too long, who have lost their humanity and have manifested into something unspeakable that even the Fallen Angels quiver.

The Dominion of the Fallen is the least secure of the realms. Fallen Angels have the most freedom and may sometimes come to Earth. After all, Earth’s aura is almost on par to Purgatory’s. Human souls, to say the least, typically do not return to Earth. Fallen Angels attempt to stay on Earth as long as they can hold a humanly form, for anything is better than the dusk of their fallen plane.

Last of all is Earth. The most common battleground. Angels and Demons have a harder time staying in a humanly form on Earth, as it will take a lot of energy. The weaker Angels and Demons use hosts, especially those with Sight, to stay on Earth longer. The ones with Sight usually could handle having the essences of the two species in them for a prolonged period of time. There are side effects with hosting an Angel or Demon, of course. Fallen Angels have an easier time staying on Earth. In fact, they can live pretty normal lives and can retain humanly forms for very long periods of time, even decades if they so desire.

Earth is the neutral ground where the humans are the source of power. And so here the games begin. The city that we will be focusing on is called Elysi, a city that was built up by the Eden Project.