The universe is more complicated than it once was. Syntactic fractures run throughout the whole of reality as it is known, constantly altering its very makeup. As devastating as this fracturing is, the universe is tenacious. There are countermeasures in place for this type of damage. Though reality cannot be pieced back together in the traditional sense, the universe's defense mechanisms function to blend together fractured parts.
The effects of such blending mean that some concepts and facts that once seemed clear-cut may become muddled and confusing for individuls to process. While this can be distressing to many, it is not ultimately harmful.
These defense mechanisms have come to be know as the Universe's Temperaments. Traditionally, the temperaments were viewed as absctract and impossible to pin down. Though this is the most accurate view, such vague things are difficult to observe. As a means of attempting to better study the temperaments, contemporary views tend to agree on six major temperaments: The Shameless, The Indulgence, The Metamorphosis, The Fascination, The Enlightenment, and the Equalizer.
Though there are six named temperaments, they are often better described by their antitheses. Each one blends reality to combat a specific type of fracture or construction. For example, The Shameless is considered the Anti-Shame—it blends what is private and what is public—what is secret and what is common knowledge—what is guarded and what is vulnerable. For more details about specific termperaments, explore the Temperaments tab in the navigation bar.
Temperaments are not beings, so much as they are concepts given life. As such, a temperament cannot interact with the physical world directly. Instead, it reaches into the mental and spiritual elements of our world and forms bonds with beings that can manipulate the physical world. These types of bonds are categorized in three main ways: incarnations, mediums, and vessels.
Incarnations, unlike other bonded souls, were never human, but may take human form if they are compelled to for whatever reason. They may also take the form of abstract visions in dreams and psychosis, swarms of insects, clouds, or have no visible form at all. They are often compelled to either lead humans toward fixing their Temperaments or turn people into vessels. They can also appoint mediums. Some incarnations are abstract and only communicate in abstract concepts. Others are more personified, with their own motivations and personalities.
Scholars are uncertain how exactly incarnations come to be. Some posit that incarnations are simply pieces of the temperaments that have slipped into the perceivable world through ordinary chaos. Others believe that incarnations are the result of temperaments bonding with gods, spirits, dream denizens, and hallucinations—causing them to take on a more autonomous form.
Mediums are the result of humans interacting with incarnations. Many have spiritual backgrounds that led them to seek out connections with beings outside common experience. However, some mediums find themselves in their roles by utter coincidence, such as during near-death experiences or heavy intoxication. Rarely, a person will unknowingly experience prolonged contact with an incarnation, causing them to become a medium simply through proximity. Mediums are dedicated to their role for life—carrying out the will of the universe. Though a few mediums have reported taking direct orders from their bonded incarnation, most report that their methods involve following vague impulses that take them where they need to go.
Vessels are people who have had their minds, souls, or consciousnesses warped beyond recognition. Most vessels start off with characteristics opposite to the temperaments. As they become vessels, those qualities become more an more extreme, usually to the point of becoming unbearable to the affected individuals. It is unclear what purpose vessels serve other than to walk the earth as living examples of what not to become.