The Suns

Overview of the Suns
There are eight suns. You probably thought there was just one, but there are eight. Except, of course, there are really nine. But even many learned people don’t know that, for the ninth is a secret. Invisible. And now you know that secret as well.

The Path of Suns is a representation of the way magic works, the known levels of existence, the stages of a life, and the makeup of the mortal soul, all in one. It is a symbol. A metaphor. A diagram. A map. Each sun represents a different concept, a different “place,” and a different fundamental aspect of the universe. These different concepts are signified by the color of each sun, so that color ends up representing the sun and its attendant ideals. The Path of Suns connects all eight suns, from Silver to Green, to Blue, to Indigo, then Grey, next Pale, and Red, and finally Gold. The Invisible Sun is not a part of the path, but rather outside, above, and around it. There are some, however, who follow the Nightside Path, which is the Path of Suns in reverse. In the Nightside Path, each sun has an altered, often darker, aspect. It would be far too simple—and in fact quite erroneous—to call the Path of Suns “good” and the Nightside Path “evil,” but some do.

The suns are planes of existence—distinct vibrational frequencies of one place: the Actuality. They are, so to speak, eight (nine) different slices of the same pie. Each sun defines a “realm” upon which it shines. But a sun is far more than that. Each governs aspects of reality, and entities within each realm are patrons of even more finely refined granules of that aspect. Each sun is an idea, or a group of ideas. Life, death, truth, falsehood—these are the fundamental building blocks of reality, and each is presided over by a different sun. In a smaller but no less significant fashion, however, each sun is also a fundamental portion of the soul of a thinking creature. The Path of Suns, then, is a map of reality as surely as it is a map of the human heart.

Magical power and potential flows like water rushing in a river from the Invisible Sun through the other suns, with different currents of magic following different paths. (Although the main current follows the Path of Suns, not all do.) Each sun has a pair of gateways through which the magical energy flows no matter what path it follows. Only the truly advanced vislae learn to master these currents to better hone their spells, but to do so, they must parley with the guardians of these gates, which are called wardens.

Each sun has a warden, and in that each sun occupies a position on two different paths, most actually possess two wardens, one that monitors the traditional path and another that oversees the Nightside Path aspect of the realm. Wardens are guardians, gatekeepers, protectors, and in some cases rulers. Their presence within the realm varies greatly. While there are exceptions, in most cases the warden is not a godlike monarch of their realm. Most hold a subtler existence—more a distant, hidden, disembodied caretaker than a prominent corporeal figure.

The Suns
Silver

Green

Blue

Indigo

Grey

Pale

Red

Gold

Invisible