The first Concept was Existence.

And so Existed magic - Energy, Matter, and Concept. Triune, yet still Singular. Etheric.

From this Concept arose another - Growth. And so the Rootwork formed, encasing the Singularity within the foundations of the Growing cosmos.

In Growth was found Order and Chaos. Two new Concepts. Duality. And the Etheric Sea was thus divided.



This is a snippet of lore for a world I've been crafting on and off for about three years now. One of the themes I want to explore is the existentialist idea of existence preceding essence. In Caellum, everything is derived from magic, itself consisting of Energy, Matter, and Concept. The mutability of magic - and by extension, reality - derives from the (conscious or unconscious) shaping of Concepts by beings possessed of souls.

Metaphysically speaking, a Soul is simply a Concept powerful enough that it is capable of shaping other Concepts. On the microscopic (relatively, that is) scale, this creates an animistic world, where souls and soul-fragments dictate the physical laws of the world. A piece of iron is reshaped in the fire because the Concept of the fire fundamentally alters the Concept of the iron. On the other extreme, the gods of the world represent massive conglomerations of soul-fragments, unified by a common Concept of Order or Chaos, and they wield their power to shape reality according to their intrinsic nature - their domains, or spheres.

Striking a balance between the unconscious fragments, and cosmic power of the gods, you have mortals. Mortals are possessed of a unique factor that even the gods do not have - as a precarious balance between Order and Chaos, mortal souls are Concepts capable not only of shaping Concepts around them, but of purposefully altering their own Concept. Herein lies the capability to learn, to grow, to reflect and respond. Souls of Order are unchanging, and sometimes stagnant. Souls of Chaos are unpredictable and ephemeral. For the brief time a Mortal exists (on a cosmic timescale, that is), they are capable of a feat no other beings can quite achieve.

Change.