Asgarthan Metaphysics

Overview

Asgarthan metaphysics is the dominant branch of philosophy in Asgartha, concerned with the fundamental nature of reality after The Confluence. The cataclysm so thoroughly altered natural laws that studying reality’s structure became a necessity. Metaphysics came to hold a preeminent place within philosophy, regarded as first philosophy in the Aristotelian tradition, preceding epistemology, logic, and ethics.

History

The Confluence rendered the known world unrecognizable, driving humanity to seek new frameworks for understanding reality. Several generations of thinkers emerged from this necessity, the most influential of whom shaped Asgarthan intellectual history across centuries.

Aurica (3–82 AC) was the foundational figure, first codifying the workings of Alteration by studying the empirical knowledge previously held by Tumult Nomads. Drawing on Plato’s Theory of Forms and Aristotle’s hylomorphism, she constructed a system of thought using the terms Aether, Quintessence, and Empyrean, defining the structure of the world as understood in Asgartha. Her framework remains the foundation upon which all subsequent Asgarthan philosophy has been built.

Ascanios Fenn (58–144 AC) was a major critic of Aurica who argued that reality could never be directly perceived. In his view, reality was the product of human manipulation of ideas, and consensus-driven thought created reality through a feedback loop. He warned that Aurica’s model and the existence of the Factions posed dangers, believing fragmented visions of the world would lead it to ruin.

Issur (140–187 AC) founded the Issurian school on the postulate that the world tends toward equilibrium. His Theory of the Two Circles proposed that reality and the Empyrean undergo regular cyclical Confluences, separated by thousands of years, with each passage causing the two substances to mix more deeply. He believed mythological ages resulted from past collisions, and that the process would ultimately culminate in a state of hyper-reality. Issur died of The Nifir.

Calfuray (142–208 AC), a contemporary and rival of Issur, advanced the opposing thesis that duality between substance and imagination was the sole guarantor of existence and had ensured balance for eons. She regarded the Confluence as an isolated phenomenon whose symptoms should be studied rather than its nature speculated upon. Despite their rivalry, she and Issur shared a deep mutual respect.

Odran ruun-Aldana (170–228 AC), a student and assistant of Calfuray, specialized in the study of the Empyrean. He theorized that the realm of imagination was also the realm of the dead, where the deceased persisted through the memories of the living. He proposed that the ideas constituting an individual were recycled after death, becoming material for future imagination and inspiration. Like Calfuray, he believed merging the worlds of the living and dead would negate existence.

Ceinwen El-Amin (220–324 AC) is considered the last of the great philosophers and acknowledged the influence of Lyra. Beginning as a linguist studying Heka ideograms, he developed a theory of reality’s mutation, proposing that thinking about the world altered it, and that countless small shifts caused reality to constantly reconstruct and redefine itself.

In the contemporary period, theorist Jiruu Kiet authored the Treatise of the Demiurge, or The Death of Philosophy, arguing that Aurican thought had inadvertently imposed its structure upon the world through its omnipresence. She contends that the observer generates reality and conceals its true nature behind their own conceptualization, urging self-knowledge as the path to truth.

Relationships

• Aurica: Foundational philosopher of Asgarthan metaphysics (3–82 AC)
• Ascanios Fenn: Critic of Aurica’s framework (58–144 AC)
• Issur: Founder of the Issurian school (140–187 AC)
• Calfuray: Rival of Issur, theorist of duality (142–208 AC)
• Odran ruun-Aldana: Student of Calfuray, Empyrean theorist (170–228 AC)
• Ceinwen El-Amin: Last great philosopher, linguist (220–324 AC)
• Jiruu Kiet: Contemporary theorist challenging Aurican thought