Archaean Cosmology

There are many gods in Archaea. Some of them seem to be the same beings under different names. But the gods, ostensibly creators of the world, have always been distant, unknowable. Many religions have arisen, none are proven true or false. The gods, the true gods, do not seem to grant magic or power, not directly.

On the other hand, the Virtues and Vices, the Archangels and Archdevils, are proven and real. It is believed that the Virtues came to the world from their Heavens to help protect it from the Archdevils and their demons . . . they do not claim to directly serve the gods, or to speak for them, and will not clarify matters, if even they know. The Virtues also do not claim to be gods. The Vices, however, often claim godhood. Many cults exist that venerate either Virtues or Vices.

Archaea once connected to *many* other worlds via its extensive portal network, and perhaps someday it will again. For now, it seems that only the Hells, and to a lesser extent the Heavens, are accessible from Archaea, although creatures remain from wildly different worlds as well, and rare portals may open to exotic locales . . . some even Outside creation.

Overlying the physical world, coterminous with it, is the intangible world of spirits, where everything from ghosts to elementals to nature spirits to disembodied demons exist. It is more easily accessible from Heaven and Hell than the physical realm is, and vice versa.

Heaven is not the realm of the gods, nor is it an afterlife. Hell is only an afterlife for mortals foolish or unfortunate enough to be corrupted by the devils.

No one knows where mortals truly go after death, and the few who are resurrected never remember. Some report feelings of deep sadness and loss on their return.

Note: this setting uses my extensive articles on Hell, and eventually my articles on Heaven.