Elaria is a realm where the current inhabitants are not all native in origin. Throughout the Hidden Series, I make references to other realms and the races coming to Elaria from them. For the story in this series, the specifics of how the realms interact are not critical. It is enough to know humans, dwarves, and magai are immigrants.
However, I have been asked about the realms by readers. I could add more explanation into the books, but it adds little to the story, slows down the pacing, and can start to feel like a lecture. Instead, I have decided to lecture here and offer these “realms” posts as bonus insight for my readers who check out my website. Details on specific realms will come later. Today, we will look at the general structure and interaction of the realms.
Orientation
So, what are the realms?
The realms exist upon another dimension. I’m not referring to the “everything that can happen, does happen” type of multiple dimensions, but about X/Y/Z dimensions.
Back and forward. Right and left. Up and down. These are the physical dimensions in which we exist as we pass along the time dimension. I am not a theoretical physicist, so this is where I will depart any proven/measurable science to delve into the world of fantasy.
The various realms exist along a spectrum of mystical power and governing forces with diverse expressions.
Our realm exists toward the physical end of the spectrum. Toward this end, science and the laws of physics hold sway. One plus one will equal two. Actions and reactions, from a physics perspective, will be calculable. The further this direction a realm goes, the further it departs from magic and mysticism and becomes more structured and standard.
Moving in the other direction along the spectrum is where things become more chaotic and fascinating. Magic and other arcane forces change how the people of a realm interact with the world around them.
In Elaria, the world and its creatures exist connected to the people evolving there. The natural world strives for balance, and it exerts influence on and through those people. While there is power beyond the physical, most life conforms.
Further down the line, Scorcellen sits seeped in magical energy at the edge of what the magai call the boundary between high and low magic. Our world is on the low magic side. On the high magic side? Wonders. All you can imagine, glorious and terrible, can exist in those realms.
Fae, dragons, and even god-like beings dominate independent high-magic realms.
Perhaps they have visited. Maybe it is only stories of their existence that have passed down through the realms. They exist out in the far reaches of the power spectrum, spinning and ever-changing.
“But how do they all interact and fit together?” you ask.
Such interaction is a topic I will touch on further in the upcoming “realms” blog installment. Until then, have fun imagining a realm of your own making.
Tiffany Shearn 
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