Gods, Kings, and Souls.

In many worlds, it is the sheer power of a being alone that elevates them to the ranks of godhood. In many worlds, it is the souls that a being holds dominion over that elevates them to the ranks of godhood. In many worlds, is is said that the right to rule is a divine one, granted by the gods.

In this world of N'doreni Gwaith, on this shattered continent all and none of this is true. The power of a great individual warrants that others follow them, and for every soul that is devoted to such a leader, that leader becomes greater still. Should they grow great enough to warrant the burden of a crown, they may begin to tread the path towards divinity. With every foe laid low either by their sword or in their name, they steal a soul from the gods... and whether great or small, the gods notice such theft.

Such a would-be monarch has but one choice to make. Do they oppose the gods, and wage war against the very powers of this world and the next that they may become a true ruler? Or do they seek refuge beneath the banner of a greater being, and become a Vassal?

-Yggdrasil and the Well of Souls-
The world of N'doreni Gwaith is but one of a multitude of planes that hang suspended among the roots of Yggdrasil by chains of Divinity. One might think of Yggdrasil, the World Tree, as an Overgod to which all other gods owe their greatness, for all gods require souls to become so great and Yggdrasil's heart is the Well from which all such souls pour forth, and where they must all one day return.

Souls are Yggdrasil's sap, and it's flow forms the Life-stream, which the gods manipulate to perform their miracles. Very few mortal magics can manipulate the Life-stream, and those that can are dangerous, as they border on the territory of divinity.

The gods of any plane form a link between that plane and Yggdrasil, drawing on the souls of the plane and returning them to the Well, but also allowing the Life-stream to flow through them and into that plane so that new life can be born into that world. These chains also anchor the plane to the Roots of Yggdrasil, and should a God ever be slain it's chain is broken, and if a new being does not rise to claim it's place among Divinity before long the Plane may begin to plummet into the Abyss beneath Yggdrasil.

Rarely, a Mortal might learn the secrets to travel along the Chains of Divinity and through the Lifestream running through Yggdrasil's roots. Such a journey is not without it's risk, yet promises great reward for in doing so they may travel to another of the Lower Planes, or if they are brazen enough to the Higher Planes in the boughs of Yggdrasil. However, travelling to the Higher planes carries with it an innate risk, for to do so one must wander dangerously close to the Well of Souls, and for a Mortal or even a Lesser God, the call to return their souls to whence they came is hard to ignore, and harder still to resist.

-The Planes-
There are fundamentally three types of Planes. The Higher Planes, the Lower Planes, and the Abyss.

The Higher Planes are those which dwell in the boughs of Yggdrasil, the demesne of Greater gods that have become One with the Life-stream and who rule over entire pantheons on the Material Planes. These planes are as myriad as the gods that dwell within them, from the Elemental Planes, to the Plane of Invention, to the Plane of Dreams. There is a plane for every aspect of existence and thought among the Higher Planes.

The Lower Planes are those which hang suspended amongst the roots of Yggdrasil, the demesne of Intermediate gods, Lesser gods, Monarchs and Mortals. These planes are those that rely on the chains of Divinity to keep them amongst Yggdrasil's roots, lest they plummet and are consumed by the Abyss. Some planes, such as N'doreni Gwaith have already begun to fall before and hang precariously at the brink of that great Maw, as much part of the Abyss as they are the Lower Planes. In these Planes, Demons find easy purchase and seek to steal from the Lifestream as many souls as they can, that they may never return to the Well of Souls at Yggdrasil's Heart.

The Abyss. It is an infinite realm of chaos and darkness, where all the worst aspects of Mortality have gone. What may have once been a stagnant sea of untapped power became the Abyss when the first of the Lower planes plunged into it, and the turmoil of dead gods and chaotic Mortality corrupted it forever. From the cesspool rose the first Demons, soul devouring monstrosities that want nothing more than to consume every soul in Yggdrasil. Just as any soul might grow great enough to become a Monarch, and any Monarch might ascend to join the ranks of the Gods, any Mortal soul can be corrupted by chaos and become a demon, and the more souls a demon consumes the greater they become.

Once a soul has become a demon, it can never return to the well of Souls, it's Mortality twisted by Chaos. The only fate left to it is to either be destroyed completely, or to be cast down into the Abyss to consume or be consumed by it's new brethren.

-The Gods-
The Gods of Yggdrasil, and of N'doreni Gwaith come in three sorts. The Greater Gods, which dwell in the Higher Planes and oversee the mechanisms of the universe. The Intermediate Gods, which serve as the Chains of Divinity linking Yggdrasil and the Lower Planes. And finally, the Lesser Gods who have not grown great enough to serve as Chains themselves, but who have tapped into the power of the Lifestream and may perform miracles.

The Greater Gods rarely tamper in the affairs of the Lower Planes, except in the most dire circumstances. Very few mortals ever learn their names, and those that do are often driven mad by such knowledge.

The Intermediate Gods exist alongside the Mortals of the Lower Planes in the form of numerous Avatars, often dwelling in their temples or hidden away from the world in order to ensure their Chain remains strong, some even ruling as Monarchs of the greatest empires.

Occasionally, Intermediate Gods who grow even more ambitious will wage war on their kin, seeking to consume their powerful souls and claim dominion over their portfolio, however it is rare for should they succeed and become a Greater God they may very well sacrifice the Lower Plane in which they have dwelled by breaking the chains that bind it to Yggdrasil.

Such was the case with the Dragon Gods, whose war for absolute dominion over the Plane nearly saw it consumed by the Abyss if not for the intervention of their Greater God progenitor.

The Lesser Gods live alongside Mortals in Divine Avatars, many living as Divine Monarchs biding their time and vying for greater power among themselves so that they might ascend to become Intermediate Gods and form their own Chains to Yggdrasil. Lesser Gods face adversity on all fronts, for the Intermediate Gods may seek to oppose them should their Portfolios be contested, other Lesser Gods seek to defeat them to claim the domain they might command, and still-mortal Monarchs constantly vie for a place amongst their ranks.

And still below the Lesser Gods, yet standing above their other mortal kin are the Monarchs of the Lower Planes. Mortals who have earned the right to rule through great deeds and claimed powerful souls. The power of Belief props these leaders up as Demigods who may choose to either remain as Mortal Lords, vassals to the Divine Kingdoms and Empires, or who may choose to wage war and join the ranks of the Divine.