Stygia
The Realm
Stygia is a realm of calm. Every Moros mage experiences the realm differently, but they all agree that it is quiet and still. It is 'serene', 'peaceful' is inaccurate, which implies an air of benevolence. The realm is a place of quiet contemplation, the phrase, 'silent as the grave, and still as a tomb', is the most fitting descriptor I've encountered, souls awaiting their transition to whatever comes after death. Beyond this air of tranquility, no two Moros agree on the physical nature of Stygia. The Kingdoms of Crypts sometimes manifests as literal interpretation of its moniker, abounding with graveyards, tombs, even a few Egyptian or Mayan pyramids. (Remember not every culture views death in the same light as ours, the Egyptians worshipped and venerated their dead.) Stygia may also be a place of rugged white marble mountains, streaked with silver and gold.
The realm is ostensibly lit by pale and weak light, echoing of the Fallen World's sun, filtered heavily through the omnipresent cloud layer. However, most of the real light of Stygia stems from the torches placed around the crypts, and funeral pyres place in and around crypts and graveyards, or from rock formations glowing with a pale inner light or reflecting the the radiance of the sun or the torches off the veins and ribbons of precious metals and mineral deposits.
Indeed, such materials are everywhere one looks in Stygia. Either from veins of gold, silver, or platinum, or clusters of gemstones big as a mountain or the riches within the tombs of its inhabitants, Stygia is a place of immense material wealth. A river flows thru Stygia; a great, cold, dark river, running south to north like the Nile in the our world, some call it the the river Styx, but many just call it the river. If any would dare to cross it, it would suck the energy you, its is feared even by the dead.This river is so wide and long that it connects to three other Realms Supernal; Aether in the north, Pandemonium away south, and Primal Wild in the east.
The Watchtower of the Lead Coin
As with every feature of Stygia, and the other supernal realms in general, the nature of the Watchtower of the Lead Coin varies depending on who is observing it. It is generally agreed to be a great spire jutting up in the the clouds, or a pyramid that would dwarf any ever found on Earth, after that the descriptions begin to vary. Many say the tower is built enitrely of some heavy metal, usually lead or gold. Some have suggested it is in the form of an immense stack of bones, which a supplicant must climb. Other substances like white marble or black obsidian have been known to appear from time to time. As the mage ascends the tower and passes through the clouds, the sunlight of Stygia grows brighter and brighter, creating the well-known 'tunnel of light' near-death sequence. At the top of the tower one must forge a connection to Stygia. This can be simply carving one's name into the tower with magic, making a blood offering, burning oneself on a funeral pyre, even forging a new Artefact to add to the treasures. Sometimes there is a gatekeeper, in the form of a Grim Reaper, a black cat, an executioner, or ghosts of the mages relatives. At other times, the tower is abandoned.
Arcana of Stygia
Death- subtle
The subtle expression of Stygia. Stygia is the one place where the soul of every dead person goes, though they will eventually move on to some other realm. As such, the resonance of Stygia is a feeling of endings.
Shadows consume light. Souls come to rest. Life decays. Even the power of magic withers and fades. This energy, decay and endings, touches everything that links with the realm of Stygia, and influences the Fallen World via the Arcanum of Death. Those who employ this power are granted influences over darkness, decay, ectoplasm, enervation, ghosts, and souls.
Matter- gross
The gross expression of Stygia. All matter in Stygia is subordinate to the will of the mages. It is how a fingernail can sctrach names into solid marble, why gold and silver and crystal, as well as other less precious materials, erupt from the surface of the realm. Even the element of life itself, water is present. (See above) The riches of the dead are there for all to see and the living mages who come must make more than a spiritual connection; it must be a phsyical link between between themselves and the watchtower. In Stygia, tangilble matter is prevalent over transient spirit, and this gravity leaks down into the Fallen World via the Arcanum of Matter. Those who master this Arcanum can wield power over the very building blocks of matter down to the subatomic level, disciplines such as: Alchemy, Chemistry, Elemtental air (gas), earth (solid), fire (plasma), and water (liquid), Quantum Mechanics, Shaping, & transmutation.
Spirit- Inferior
The notion of a spirit is substantially different to that of a soul. Many Moros cannot seem to understand this. Stygia is a place entirely devoid of the spirits that infuse the Primal Wild and the Shadow realm, where matter is souless and purely physical, nothing more than the basic it is composed of. When witnessing a mage using the Arcanum of Sprit to awaken an, object, few moros realise that the mage is actually calling to another being; most simply believe that the mage is using a part of their own soul to awaken the item. Even those that see this difference know that Stygia has no power over spirits. As such, the Arcanum of Spirit is restricted to the Moros.