The Planes Collide

In the beginning, there was only Light and Dark, heat and cold, everything, and nothing.

Opposites in every way, a paradox formed between them. One could not exist without the other, but neither could exist in the other’s presence.

Yet how can only two things exist, and never touch?

So they did.

And from their union came mass, the Physical Plane.

Thus began Time.

The Physical Plane provided a barrier. Something to separate Light and Dark, never to touch again.

Or so it would seem.

After eons of mingling with Light, a new Plane sprung from the Physical: that of Life, the Natural Plane.

Perhaps something sprung from the other side too, but it is Dark, and therefore unknown.

With the birth of Life, another Plane made itself known. The Spiritual Plane. It had always been, drifting around and between Light and Dark, expanding out into the Physical. But never before was it able to interact with the other Planes.

Life had given it a way.

Death.

Only through Life, can there be Death.

And only through experiencing Death, can a being return to the Spiritual Plane.

Between them, Life and Death gave the Spirit a way to flow between itself and the Physical Plane.

A pair of lungs, inhaling Life, exhaling Death.

The Spirit jumped into Life, and together they grew. The Spirit gave Life a reason to evolve, deepening their connection.

Billions of years passed. Through the progress of Life and Spirit sprung the newest Plane, the Cognitive.

As one would expect from a child of this union, the Cognitive Plane expanded rapidly. Never before had a Plane advanced so quickly. The Cognitive Plane even gave its growth a name:

Curiosity.

Many life forms developed Curiosity, and those that developed it most rapidly dominated their worlds. Often, the result was an implosion. Curiosity moved too fast for itself, its missteps sending it plummeting back to the bottom of the mountain.

But some species overcame the potentially self-destructive nature of Curiosity. Some of these creatures learned to leave their home planets, exploring the stars. Others were able to divine the inner workings of the universe, discovering the existence of other Planes. Though they could not move between Planes, they could influence them from their position in the Physical, where all Planes intersect.

Even the forgotten one.

Darkness.