The Netherworld

Nether magic, considered a chaos magic and so dangerous to the extent that very little is known about it, originates from the void-like dimension between worlds known as the Netherworld. Extremely difficult to access, most of the time only spirits of the highest calibre have visited the place. Therefore every account of the Netherworld ends up being secondhand information, so it is not clear on what is exaggerated and what is true.

Origin
The Netherworld was at first a hypothetical concept by several Planeswalkers who had caught glimpses of other worlds while on their travels through the Astral Planes. They did not think that the existence of other worlds could be supported on their own, not even with magic, and therefore believed that in order to allow dimension travellers to pass through to other worlds, there should be a world in between to serve as passage.

This theory was often ridiculed and very unpopular, until Litvantar was visited by actual dimension travellers. They did not stay for long, but they confirmed the existence of a "world between worlds" before leaving.

Wizards and Planeswalkers alike tried, with varying degrees of enthusiasm, to catch even a glimpse of this world, but many perished the moment they even succeeded opening portals to the Netherworld, if they managed it. An apprentice, witnessing the death of one of their mentors, noted that the magic pouring out of the portal would be "unholy, almost terrifying in sensation, bringing a sense of disarray and overwhelming confusion". As such, chaos magic was then suggested, and proven, to exist, and the Netherworld was identified as the source of such magic.

Eventually, with the combined efforts of a group of brave Planeswalkers, they managed to have a glimpse of the Netherworld through the Oblivion Astral Plane. The Netherworld appeared below Oblivion, thus earning its name.

Appearance
The Planeswalkers' observations told of strange but consistent sights. The Netherworld appeared to be more than just a void - it was a world on its own, but everything they were familiar with was changed into something that did not make sense. Depending on the Planeswalker in question, something that was familiar would turn into something odd for that Planeswalker - meaning that some of the Planeswalkers were given odd sights that would have made sense to their colleagues and vice versa. It was extremely confusing, but it cemented the Netherworld's status as a world of pure chaos.

Flora and fauna found in the Netherworld often made no sense either. The most well-known creature of the Netherworld were the netherwings, energy beings that could appear as a flying centipede, ray or a mixture of animals. They changed their appearance irregularly, always flying and never tiring. While they were transparent due to their nature, everything that could be seen through their bodies would be distorted. Netherwings can be seen patrolling Faros Empire today.

It was said that the land of the Netherworld appeared as a sea, and the sky above appeared as if it was night, but bright with the midday light. Creatures that would appear to be land-based swam through the ground as if it was water - the ground itself was see-through, but murky as it got deeper.

Embedded into the sea-like ground were towering crystals of a sickly green. There was usually only one per crystal node, and they were spaced out far from each other. They were described to glow brightly and emit green vapour into the atmosphere, often creating strange smoke trails across the sky. It is suggested that this is the source of chaos magic.

Chaos and Order
Exactly how the Netherworld contributes to being a passage between worlds is not clear, but it has been noted that chaos magic plays a fundamental role in the creation of a world. It is suggested that "world seeds" begin as purely chaos-oriented, a disarray of organisms and environments that eventually begin to reorganise themselves into a coherent plane of existence.

The "order" that promotes this reorganisation appears to originate from the presence of other worlds floating about the Netherworld's atmosphere. The theory behind it is that the other created worlds have their own systems that follow a set process, and therefore each system generates "order" that tames chaos. This would mean that other worlds would gently correct the balance of chaos and order, and therefore allow a world seed to begin forming itself. Any world seed that is too overwhelmed by chaos to even float up to where the other worlds are eventually falls to the sea-like ground, where it sinks and fades away.

So in accordance with this theory, the Netherworld in fact regulates the balance between chaos and order, and therefore is the ultimate supporter of worlds young and old.

Access
Very few have succeeded in travelling through the Netherworld to visit other worlds. Portals that do promote this tend to open of their own accord depending on how much chaos is in the area; the level of order dictates whether the portal is safe to enter or not. Most Nether portals collapse within seconds because they often don't have order to keep them sustained.

All magic users are discouraged from entering the Netherworld. It is difficult to measure how much order an individual has in order to survive the chaotic nature of the Netherworld, so chances of survival are mostly fixed at nil.

Farosians only use the chaos magic. They do not, if ever, enter the Netherworld even though they can survive in it.

Connection to Litvantar
The Netherworld has a connection to all worlds, and Litvantar is no different. It is said that it has sub-connections in each of the Four Regions. The Semara Region connection can be found on Eduria, right under Faros Empire. This connection was probably the reason for Faros' success and reputation as a pure magic empire.

After the Farosians were turned into what they are today, they enchanted their wrappings with nether magic. The theory behind this was that nether magic would cause enough order to react against its chaotic nature, thereby keeping the wrappings balanced and their energy bodies protected within them. The theory proved correct, and ever since then the Farosians have been using nether magic in moderation and very carefully.

The connection has also caused many unique changes to that section of the continent, such as smoke pouring off black rock, and "live" gemstones and molten metals that have health benefits to the Farosians when assimilated. This is just attributed to how chaos magic turns everything familiar into something odd.

The stream of chaos magic through the connection is balanced out by Litvantar's own order, thus keeping the rest of the region protected.