Minor fluff questions - which, in the end, all amount to the same: are the Winds of each Realm mixed with other winds?

[Cèsar de Quart]

Hi there. I have some minor fluff questions. Here they go:

1- There are stars in the skies of the different realms, but are they incandescnent orbs linked with Azyr (and thus, Azyr being the literal and metaphorical Sky above all the Realms)? Or are they just bright specks fixed to the outer layer of every realm, and therefore different and unrelated to Azyr? Or are they just stars orbiting the "expanse of unaligned magic", Phil Kelly's words, that exist outside the Realms?

I like the idea of the sky of each realm being a manifestation of Azyr in some sense, mixed in with every other Realm's magic giving it its own image and characteristics (Chamon having floating orbs of metal, harkening back to Renaissance ideas of the Solar System and the alchemical composition for each planet; Aqshy having flaming aurorae borealis (aurorae ignis?), or Shiysh having a dead sun and a bloody moon. It also opens up other possibilities of Winds mixing with other Winds.

It would also make sense with what Kelly has said, the Mortal Realms are clumps of same-type magic manifested into landscapes, but for some reason (abitrarily, as far as I know) the center of these Realms are the most stable, Old World like areas, and where crops can be sown and harvested, cities built and civilizations can thrive. Could it be that the Wind of Fire has a weaker influence in the center of Aqshy because it's also getting influences from other winds? Or, could it be that the sky, being so outward, is already snippets of Azyr which coalesce at the edges of the Void and the Realms, because that's what Azyr does after all (breeze around, orbit, and generally be the outward layer)?

 

2- Is vegetation in every realm an aspect of Ghyran? I'm trying to wrap my head around crops in Chamon or Aqshy or Shiysh and unless they're manifestations of the Lore of Life, I can't make sense of them. On the same note, is metal in Ghur a piece of Chamon? Does wildlife in Hiysh attract, or is cause by, Ghur wizzling about? 

 

3- Are there no civilizations left from the Age of Myth? Did Chaos destroy them all? The Lantic Empire and the rest, they're all dead, right?

 

4- Phil Kelly said that the center of the Realms is the most inhabitable place. I wonder how this works in Shyish, but I guess we'll learn a whole lot about it in a week or so.

--- This one has been already solved here:

 

 

5- The Collegiate Arcane is kinda like the old Colleges of Magic, but now there are many humans with no access to Azyr or the Collegiate. What happens to wizards who are not a part of it? Are they still open gates to Chaos, like in the old fluff?

 

Thanks kindly for all the answers.

[DantePQ]

Question 3 - there is a chance that there is Araloth Civilization floating somewhere I know Belakor kind of implied that he destoryed it (but I doubt she is so powerful )I think he just cut  out Lileath connection with it.  It's a nice idea - kingdom of Aelves lead by Araloth/Asuryan and protected by ghosts/souls of Bretonnian Knights

[Cèsar de Quart]

It would be a nice idea. Cool theme to build your Wanderer army with Bretonnian ghosts around.

[DantePQ]

I doubt they would be Wanderers I guess idea was to save Aelven race so they could like Aelves of old. Also it would be nice dynamic with Sigmar and new gods with Asyruan making a comeback because it was implied that Araloth became Asyruan reborn. 

[mumperpa]

2. The original description in the book that comes with the starter set describes Ghyran as "From barren to abundant, this realm is forever flowing is cycle. Yet when in bloom, there are no lands more verdant or bountiful."  Ghyran, at least by that description, has one defining feature, pre-set cycles which can bring various amounts of life. You could have frozen tundras and barren deserts in Ghyran too. I'm not sure how the realmgate wars addressed this though.

Likewise, Aqshy is "Lands of passions untold and volatile landscapes. In this realm, aggression is born and carried far upon hot, gusting winds." You could easily have rivers which flood the surrounding land after rainstorms, or huge tornadoes which savage entire kingdoms if you make it about dangerous landscapes rather than just fire. Most of the other descriptions are like that, but I think I made my point. Unfortunately, it seems that for having created such an open ended world, GW seems to take the least creative interpretation most of the time. 

As for materials are part of one lore but are found in another, it could be based on the many interpretations and landscapes in the realms. I do love the ideas of the realms being very interdependent, and constantly being forced to trade with other civilizations from other realms for basic materials. This would make for the Age of Chaos being especially deadly, as without Ghyran you can't receive new types of crops, and without chamoan, no new metal. Of course that is just an idea. 

[mumperpa]

57 minutes ago, Cèsar de Quart said:

It also opens up other possibilities of Winds mixing with other Winds.

 

57 minutes ago, Cèsar de Quart said:

Could it be that the Wind of Fire has a weaker influence in the center of Aqshy because it's also getting influences from other winds? Or, could it be that the sky, being so outward, is already snippets of Azyr which coalesce at the edges of the Void and the Realms, because that's what Azyr does after all (breeze around, orbit, and generally be the outward layer)?

That's an awesome idea, and makes a lot of sense. It could also explain where materials that should be found in other realms would come from. I love the idea that if you live in, say, the realm of life, you have to travel to the very boundaries of your realm to get metal. In the video GW made explaining the realms a little bit, they said that if you travel to far from the center, you can just die, disappear, or otherwise have very unfortunate circumstances befall you.  That could be winds mixing, as you said. That opens up great story possibilities, in which deadly quests must be completed to collect necessary but rare materials. 

[Cèsar de Quart]

5 hours ago, mumperpa said:

2. The original description in the book that comes with the starter set describes Ghyran as "From barren to abundant, this realm is forever flowing is cycle. Yet when in bloom, there are no lands more verdant or bountiful."  Ghyran, at least by that description, has one defining feature, pre-set cycles which can bring various amounts of life. You could have frozen tundras and barren deserts in Ghyran too. I'm not sure how the realmgate wars addressed this though.

 

I said "vegetation"  and I meant "life", in general, but I see your point.

 

Likewise, Aqshy is "Lands of passions untold and volatile landscapes. In this realm, aggression is born and carried far upon hot, gusting winds." You could easily have rivers which flood the surrounding land after rainstorms, or huge tornadoes which savage entire kingdoms if you make it about dangerous landscapes rather than just fire. Most of the other descriptions are like that, but I think I made my point. Unfortunately, it seems that for having created such an open ended world, GW seems to take the least creative interpretation most of the time.

That they do. I'd like them to visit the more nuanced aspects of their own setting every once in a while, but even in 40k there seems to be only death world, dead worlds and industrial hive worlds. No in between, even if we're told that in-between worlds do exist.

 

5 hours ago, mumperpa said:

 

That's an awesome idea, and makes a lot of sense. It could also explain where materials that should be found in other realms would come from. I love the idea that if you live in, say, the realm of life, you have to travel to the very boundaries of your realm to get metal. In the video GW made explaining the realms a little bit, they said that if you travel to far from the center, you can just die, disappear, or otherwise have very unfortunate circumstances befall you.  That could be winds mixing, as you said. That opens up great story possibilities, in which deadly quests must be completed to collect necessary but rare materials. 

Yes, I thought that having expeditions to the outer edges of the Realm, dangerous and deadly, to gather materials, strange items and artifacts, magical "stuff" in general, or simply just anything... In the Realm of Life metal may be scarce (which would play nicely with the Welsh myth where fairies and feys can't touch metal, which is dirty and unnatural according to them), death may take its time to come, or tend not to stay very long in one place, fire may burn slowly and passions may be tamer, milder, as may beasts be... I don't know, I find the concept very appealing.

Also, one thing that many people forget often is a simple: how do the people in the world see their world? In the books they give us all the answers straight, but if you lived in the 1200's, the answer to "what is the World", "where does the world end" or "what is the power of the gods" would get different answers than today. I'd like to see what ideas does the Provost-General of the Freeguild of Whatnot belive in, about his world, his reality, his history, his gods, his fate...

 

[Ollie Grimwood]

59 minutes ago, Cèsar de Quart said:

I said "vegetation"  and I meant "life", in general, but I see your point.

 

 

 

That they do. I'd like them to visit the more nuanced aspects of their own setting every once in a while, but even in 40k there seems to be only death world, dead worlds and industrial hive worlds. No in between, even if we're told that in-between worlds do exist.

 

Yes, I thought that having expeditions to the outer edges of the Realm, dangerous and deadly, to gather materials, strange items and artifacts, magical "stuff" in general, or simply just anything... In the Realm of Life metal may be scarce (which would play nicely with the Welsh myth where fairies and feys can't touch metal, which is dirty and unnatural according to them), death may take its time to come, or tend not to stay very long in one place, fire may burn slowly and passions may be tamer, milder, as may beasts be... I don't know, I find the concept very appealing.

Also, one thing that many people forget often is a simple: how do the people in the world see their world? In the books they give us all the answers straight, but if you lived in the 1200's, the answer to "what is the World", "where does the world end" or "what is the power of the gods" would get different answers than today. I'd like to see what ideas does the Provost-General of the Freeguild of Whatnot belive in, about his world, his reality, his history, his gods, his fate.

 

Much of this is what Black Library covers, campaign books and Battletomes are broad strokes. For individuals’ view points you need to go to the novels.