Cosmic Laws of the Mortal Age

The following principles define the fundamental metaphysical rules governing existence in the Mortal Age. These laws are consistent, inviolable, and operate independently of mortal belief, divine intent, or magical tradition. They form the unseen framework upon which all divine absence, necromancy, prophecy, and apocalyptic events are built.

These laws are not widely understood within the world and are known only incompletely or inaccurately by most factions.

I. The Law of Severed Divinity

No god may directly enter, manifest fully within, or meaningfully intervene in the Mortal Plane.

This prohibition is enforced by Eldravon, the Veilwarden, a divine construct created during the First Fall. Eldravon bars all true divine presence from the world, allowing only residual influence, indirect intervention, or agents already bound to the plane prior to its activation.

As a result:

• The gods are absent from the Mortal Plane.

• Prayers go unanswered directly.

• Miracles occur through intermediaries, not divine arrival.

A reborn First, restored as Voreth’s full divine presence, would be the only known exception capable of bypassing the Veil. “Primordial entities are not gods and are not subject to this prohibition.”

II. The Law of God-Death and Mortal Reincarnation

When a god is slain, its divine existence does not end — it fractures and reincarnates.

A dead god:

• Reenters the mortal world as a mortal being

• Possesses no memory of its divine identity

• Is fully subject to mortality, time, and death

This law applies universally and cannot be circumvented.

Nerull, one of the former gods, currently exists somewhere in the world as a mortal with no awareness of his true origin. A living descendant of Nerull is a required component of the ritual known as the Third Rise.

III. The Law of the Dimhaven Claim

Any soul that dies within the Dimhaven is permanently bound to it.

When death occurs in the Dimhaven:

• The soul does not pass to an afterlife

• The soul is claimed by the land itself

• The soul becomes untethered from its corpse

As a consequence:

• Spells such as Speak with Dead, Commune, or similar effects fail on corpses that died within the Dimhaven

• Resurrection magic functions only under extraordinary, rare circumstances (if at all)

• Bodies remain, but the soul is no longer accessible

The Dimhaven is not merely corrupted land — it is a metaphysical prison.

IV. The Law of Fragmented Apotheosis

A divine being split into lesser fragments cannot regain full godhood through partial restoration.

When the First was defeated during the First Fall:

• His essence was shattered by the Ancient Six

• Six fragments were bound within the Attribute Skulls

• His true soul, formed from malice alone, coalesced into the Whisperskull

Each fragment retains power, but no individual fragment — nor any incomplete set — is sufficient to restore full divinity.

Only the union of:

• All six Attribute Skulls

• The Whisperskull

• And a living descendant of Nerull

can complete the ritual of The Third Rise.

V. The Law of Corruption Without Intent

Primordial corruption does not require conscious evil to spread.

The corruption known as Asakku predates the gods themselves and represents the world’s original entropic state. It spreads not through will or belief, but through exposure, resonance, and metaphysical weakness.

As a result:

• Individuals may become corrupted without malicious intent

• Protective or restorative magic can be subverted

• Even virtues can be twisted into instruments of decay

The Dimhaven’s corruption is a symptom of wounds deep enough for Asakku’s influence to reemerge.

VI. The Law of False Balance

Cosmic balance can be simulated without being real.

The primordial arbiter Maelchor, the Silent Scales, intervenes only when true metaphysical equilibrium is broken. However, sufficiently advanced manipulation of cause, effect, and perception can fabricate the illusion of balance.

The Dimhallow Covenant has used techniques inherited from the First and empowered by the Whisperskull to create such a false balance blind spot, preventing Maelchor from perceiving the Third Rise as an imbalance.

This deception cannot last indefinitely.

VII. The Law of Witness and Consequence

Truth exists independently of belief, but consequences do not.

Entities such as:

• Astaroth (Absolute Truth)

• Foras (Wisdom and Guidance)

• The Reader (Self-declared God of Continuity)

perceive the world through vastly different lenses. Their actions are dictated not by morality, but by:

• Observation

• Self-interest

• The preservation of their nature

Foreknowledge does not prevent catastrophe.
Witnessing truth does not equate to stopping it.

VIII. The Law of Inevitability and Defiance

All recorded futures observed by Astaroth culminate in the rise of the First and the end of the Mortal Age.

This prophecy is not certainty — it is expectation.

The act of warning mortals introduces paradox:

• Knowledge inspires defiance

• Defiance alters outcomes

• Altered outcomes invalidate prophecy

The Mortal Age persists only because its inhabitants refuse to accept the inevitability of their own end.

Closing Note

These laws define what is possible, not what is right.

Every major power in the world — the Dimhallow, the Shadowlands, the Averna, the cosmic entities, and the heroes themselves — operates within these constraints, whether knowingly or not.

Breaking these laws is impossible.

Challenging their consequences is the essence of the campaign.