Astral Realm

The Astral Realm is a plane related to consciousness, the stars, and divination.

Lore[]

The Astral Realm reflects past present, and everywhere at once. The Taan peer into this realm to divine the past or future, or to scry a location. However, even their magics have its limits, as the human mind and body cannot withstand the realm for long. A careless mage can have their soul crushed under the weight of the realm.^[1] Some artefacts can help lessen this burden and improve the quality of divination, though still as a temporary measure.^[2] It is possible to physically tread this realm, though only with the use of a proper anchor.

The Astral Realm can be used for more than just divination. By harnessing its power, one can disrupt barriers and even create semi-physical constructs that appear similar to hard light. However, this should be done with care as there are monsters who inhabit the Astral Realm, and are drawn to consume the light of those who deeply channel the realm.^[1]

The Astral Realm appears like a firmament filled with stars. The levels closet to the physical world look like a reflection of it. As one goes deeper into the realm, distance is no longer reflected in the same way as in the physical.

Recent History[]

Karshun projected the Shard-seeker and himself into the Astral Realm in order to scry the activities of the Cult of Terror. Unfortunately, their presence was sensed by the Bride of Hell who disruptted their connection, and sent cultists into the Astral Realm to prevent them from returning to their bodies.^[2]

Months later Othva — an exiled Taan mage, now affiliated with the Cult of Terror, began attacking various places of power, where he harvested the power of the stars through the sacrifice of the residents. The energy was gathered to the Taan Star Observatory, where he planned to use it to power an artifact to peel the borders of Sanctuary and expose it to the realms beyond. Unfortunately, he was stopped by Karshun and the Shard-seeker, and the artifact was destroyed. The backlash closed the Astral Realm to the Taan.^[2]

In-game[]

The Astral Realm is a realm that is seen in the Terror's Tide questline of Diablo Immortal. It is also featured in the Elite Quest "The Astral Bloom".

Trivia[]

• A portal that connects a location to a point in the Astral Realm is called an Astral Tear.

• The Astral Realm shares similar features with the Mirror Dimension; in that it initially looks overlapped with the physical realm, but space begins to get warped as one travels deeper into the realm.^[1]

References[]