Axis

Axis

(Plane)

Titles

Eternal City
Perfect City
Utopia

Sphere

Outer Sphere

Gravity

Normal

Time

Normal

Realm

Finite

Structure

Lasting

Essence

Mixed

Alignment

Lawful neutral

Magic

Enhanced or impeded

Denizens

Aeons
Apkallus
Axiomites
Axial monitors
Inevitables
Mercanes
Remade shades

Divinities

Abadar, Amaznen, Aroden, Brigh, Chaldira Zuzaristan, Irori, Lissala, Norgorber, Thamir Gixx, primordial inevitables

Description

A vast, perfect city

Images of Axis

Source: Planar Adventures, pg(s). 172–177

Axis (pronounced AK-sihs) is a plane in the Outer Sphere dedicated to universal law unmarred by the struggles between good and evil. It takes the shape of a gigantic city, and exists among the planes of the Outer Sphere as a shining example of perfect order and harmony rising out of the churning Maelstrom. Within the plane's golden barrier walls, the streets are perfectly ordered and clean, the buildings appear as paragons of their respective architectural styles from virtually every culture within the Great Beyond, and the natives strive to live in orchestrated harmony.

Of course, some would label the plane's perfection hollow, or its beauty verging on sterility, but given the Eternal City's violent history and perhaps precarious present standing, its gods and outsiders alike dismiss such criticism outright.

History

According to the Concordance of Rivals, the plane of Axis coalesced around Pharasma's Spire from pure lawful quintessence during the primordial days of creation. For countless ages, Axis existed as a blank slate. The development of mortal civilizations caused the formation of three crystalline shards from the infinite potential of the Maelstrom, which fell onto the empty plain to become the Threefold Pillars of the Axiomite Godmind and leading in turn to the creation of the axiomite race and of the city of Axis itself.

Axis has survived countless assaults from numerous enemies, three of which, which all happened during the Age of Creation, bear special mention. The first one came from the proteans, who demanded Axis to stop its expansion and return to primordial chaos. The axiomites rebuked them and prepared for war, and a day later, the invading proteans and demons arrived. After having successfully repelled the first attack, the axiomites created the first inevitables to protect Axis. The conflict between axiomites and proteans still continues, having ground to a stalemate.

The second invasion came at the hands of the thanatotic titans during their rebellion against the deities. The defenders of the Eternal City succeeded in defeating the attackers and left their corpses rotting in the wasteland on Axis' outer limits as a warning to others. Axiomites made an alliance with the Axis gigas to protect the city. It was the powerful Axis gigas who finally were able to turn the tide against the forces of chaos. After the war, the enormous giants disappeared, but are still said to dwell beneath the cobblestone streets of the city, waiting to defend it again.

The third invasion, and the greatest calamity that ever befell Axis, was the rampage of Rovagug, who previously laid waste to huge swaths of the Great Beyond. His attention was only drawn away from Axis by a coalition of deities, who managed to seal him within the Dead Vault. Some districts destroyed by Rovagug still have not recovered to this day.

Description

The inconceivably large city of Axis spreads out beside the base of Pharasma's Spire toward its neighboring planes, but is separated from them by the Maelstrom. These borders are guarded vigilantly by Axis' inhabitants, as the Maelstrom's chaos is seen as a greater threat than the evil from the River Styx, whose banks pass by Pharasma's Spire itself.

Rather than being a single, uniform city, Axis consists of millions of settlements arranged next to, around and inside each other in a complex and elegant pattern. These constituent cities are often connected by portals to ease travel between them, and many serve as the realms of Axis' gods. Among the largest of these sub-cities is Aktun, the divine realm of Abadar and a form of capital for Axis itself. Aktun connects to several other districts of Axis, such as the Citadel of Resplendent Clockwork, the realm of the goddess Brigh; beneath Aktun proper lies the underground labyrinth of Duskfathom, where Norgorber rules and resides.

Places of interest

Notable locations in Axis include:

• Adamantine Crucible
• Aktun (Abadar's Domain)
• Back Alleys (Thamir Gixx's Domain)
• Citadel of Resplendent Clockwork
• Council of Clockwork Innovations
• Crystalline Spire of the Order of the Broken Tide
• Duskfathom (Norgorber's Domain)
• Empty Court (Aroden's Domain)
• Golden Lattice
• Grand Archive of Unveiled Laws
• Ilkiston
• Liquid Orrery of the Borderlands
• Threefold Pillars of the Axiomite Godmind
• Pharasma's Spire
• Refuge of the Red Rose
• Sayashto
• Serene Circle
• Stelti-3
• Stylite
• Vault of the Marut Legion
• Wasteland

An axiomite, one of the primary inhabitants of Axis.

Inhabitants

Within the city, there are no shortages of goods or labor, and no social disorder. Its inhabitants work with an almost hive-like mentality to the greater glory of perpetual order.

Axis, despite its nature as a plane of rigid order, is home to a great diversity of natives. Its primary and original inhabitants are the axiomites themselves, as direct creations of the Godmind. The aphorites, despite being creations of the axiomites, often travel to mortal worlds and are rare in Axis itself. Mercanes are common in Axis, having originally come as traders from an unknown plane but having since become full natives of the planar city. Scrivenites, peculiar beings composed of written pages and silk ribbons and formed from the souls of the most pedantic and fact-obsessed mortals, also call the Eternal City home.

Axis is also home to most of the surviving automatons of the Jistka Imperium, who migrated there after the empire's fall. Champion and stalker automatons hold a tournament once a decade where any of the planar city's residents may participate, while the diminutive familiar automatons serve as messengers among the city's various inhabitants.

Axis also counts powerful protectors among its natives. The construct-like inevitables guard the streets of the city and the outer walls overlooking the Maelstrom, while the powerful apkallus—rare and powerful manifestations of the Godmind—serve as archivists in times of peace but rise as fearsome defenders of its order when it comes under threat.

Aeons also maintain a large presence within the city, and have become increasingly common there over time. This has fueled speculation that the enigmatic outsiders may be coming to favor the order of law over entropy and chaos, a matter that the aeons themselves have remained silent on.

Resident Deities

The gods who hold law and order above all else live in Axis. Abadar, god of civilization, is one of the most prominent gods to call Axis home. His palace in the city Aktun holds the fabled First Vault at the city's center. Irori and his followers seeking enlightenment live in the Serene Circle, while the clockwork goddess Brigh seeks to invent and innovate in her realm, the Citadel of Resplendent Clockwork. The first and most powerful of the inevitables, the primordial inevitables, are demigods who stand against chaos and entropic threats. They include Jerishall, Kerkamoth, Otolmens, and Valmallos.

Deep within the underbelly of Axis known as Duskfathom, the nefarious god of secrets and crime Norgorber reigns supreme. For without crime, there would be no need for law enforcement.

It is said that the Argent Gate, the realm-temple of Alseta the goddess of doors, was once a part of Axis, but she took her realm with her and left due to making gods of different alignments uncomfortable as they traveled through Axis. Her temple now freely travels the neutral-ground that is the Astral Plane.

References

For additional as-yet unincorporated sources about this subject, see the Meta page.