"Three hundred years ago, our understanding of reality was forever shaken to it's foundational core. The universe, once thought to all of existence, was revealed to be merely half of a whole. It has an older, much greater opposite: Abeyance. But what is Abeyance, actually?"

"Well, unlike the universe, it can hard to create a mental image of Abeyance. When you think of the Universe you think of space. A great black void filled with stars, planets, and galaxies. This is possible because of it's nature. Through an empty void like space, we may perceive things like light and material, the chemical make-up of it can be, with reasonable effort, visibly comprehended, even with the naked eye. In Abeyance, however, this does not work."

"You see, Abeyance is not a void filled with planets, it is a single heaving sea of matter within which stable pockets of what we would deem reality, or space, have been created. It is easiest to picture Abeyance as a sea. A great expanse of Higgs Particles in which these "Islands", sometimes called Vivariums, are suspended. This is the first great difference between the two. The Universe is a sea of nothingness with planets and stars as islands. Abeyance is a sea of raw, pure matter with Vivariums as its islands."

The second, and arguably even more important difference between the two, is the nature of chaos versus control. The Universe, as we well known, is controlled chaos. The laws of physics and time are what constrain it, however there is little to no artificial interference with it's process. As long as the chaos follows the rules, it is chaos that creates what we now know."

"Abeyance, again, works in a opposite manner. To simplify a greatly complex issue, Abeyance is everything, everywhere, always. The only singular law that constrains it is time. Chemistry, physics, thermo-dynamics, gravity... all of these are optional, non-existent yet always existent within the base of Abeyance. Therefore, with such little chaos to allow for reaction, how does anything happen? Eternal Engines. Thanks to the nature of Abeyance, these unseen, god-like beings can craft worlds as they desire, literally forging new Islands into existence whenever they please, to serve any manner of purposes. As such, Abeyance is a realm of purposefully built lands. Nearly everything is by design, it is merely that more often than not, the purpose of that design eludes mere mortals."

"Now, as much as I would like to enter the topic of the Eternal Engines themselves, I fear this lecture has gone on long enough as is. However, hopefully this has made Abeyance a far less scary, far more understandable place for you. In many ways, it is very much like the Universe: Once you understand it, the fear begins to subside. If it was not safe, we would not be sending you out there in the first place. Grayline has been successfully establishing peaceful colonies in abeyance for over two hundred years now, and with your dedication, hard work, and determination, we hope that you will join that long list of colonists who braved the new world to start a new life, and help bring all of us one step closer to going back home to where we really belong. Thank you."

- Excerpt taken from the Grayline Colonization Project Onboarding Seminar, for the volunteers of Settlement 17-S011 "Verdant Dance".


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Decided to do this as a warm-up now that im back from vacation! Consider this a promise that I'll start getting around to making more proper lore pages for you soon!

For now, this is effectively a map of the major locations in Alter and whether they exist in the Universe or Abeyance, along with some fun esoterica.~

Athanasy is the last standing planet in the Universe with friendly organic life after the events of the Great Fall and the Godbreak. This is where the Three Great Empires resettled, established their new capitals, and eventually formed the Trifecta Alliance, along with the Grayline Organization stationed in Ambershore.

As always, feedback is welcome and appreciated!
I'm also happy to answer any lore questions curious followers may have!