Noosphere

The Noosphere ( PRONOUNCED: /’noʊəsfɪər/ NOH-uh-SFEER or /’nu:sfɪər/ NOOSFEER) is a theoretical concept, believed to be a force that permeates throughout Lorone and its planes. Its existence is contested and shrouded in theory, mysticism, and contradiction. It both is and is not. Proven, and disproven.

Theories and rumours of the Noosphere are rare and fragmented at best, only ever passed from the hushed lips of dogmatic occultists and nomads of unknown origin and sanity.

The Nature of the Noosphere
The Noosphere is believed to be a force derived from pure thought, it is seen as a sphere that encompasses Lorone's multiverse. It is described by some as a sea of infinite wisdom and knowledge that one must delve into, floating in an infinite void of consciousness and unconsciousness. Others see it as a gas or power that exists, permeating all creatures through their minds, connecting them in an infinitely spanning network of lattices.

Regardless of metaphysical interpretation, it is consistently believed to be the combined consciousness of all minds that have ever existed, and thus all their knowledge condensed into a singular force that surrounds the multiverse. It is also often interpreted as being the reason creatures develop sentience, with every brilliant idea conceived first by realising the possibility of brilliance through the Noosphere.

Theories
Some psions believe it to be the source or progenitor of their mental abilities and is the force that causes the development of psychic abilities.

Philosophically minded magic casters play with the possibility that divination spells do not simply form and distribute knowledge from the Weave itself, as the Weave is the force that supplies magic but not knowledge – wizards spend their whole lives studying knowledge to manipulate the Weave – suggesting the existence of an external force. This often-baseless concept has been backed by the concept of atheist wizards casting divination spells to learn things they could not know, such as the contact other plane, divination, or legend lore spells; the former two ordinarily requiring the intervention of a deity or extraplanar being to supply this knowledge. However, many scholars rebuke this idea by stating that regardless of theology, it is most likely that Arcti, as the God of Knowledge and Magic, or one of their servants intervenes to supply the knowledge the spell grants.

Connection to the Astral Plane
As a plane influenced heavily by the thoughts of others, scholarly minded telepaths and those with an affinity for magic that interacts with the mind believe that the Noosphere is simply the Astral Plane by another name; once again disproving its existence as a spiritual force.

However, if this assumption were true, it would offer credence to the theory that the Noosphere is a tangible force of mental energy that has the potential to be the source or medium of psionic powers; primarily in the disciplines of telepathy and clairsentience, giving a possible, albeit limited, limited explanation of how these powers manifest.

Connection to the Sea of Eternity
The Sea of Eternity, an ocean within Hori's divine domain, is another interpretation of the Noosphere's existence. Horist scripture states that the Sea of Eternity is the method by which the Goddess of Time is able to view all points of history at once, even possibilities that have not and will not occur. Noosphere theorists see the Sea of Eternity as a fragment of the Noosphere's knowledge, or perhaps as merely a medium through which Hori is able to see into the Noosphere as they are both touted as 'vast oceans of infinite knowledge'.

A Force of Knowledge
Unifying these broad theories is a relatively stable assumption that the Noosphere is a force that spellcasters and psions alike often draw from when using their divinatory spells or powers if a deity or otherworldly entity does not intervene. Given that the collective consciousness of the Noosphere contains all knowledge that has ever existed, it is capable of supplying information so long as it has existed at some point.

For example, in the case of the legend lore spell, the Noosphere can relay knowledge that is of great importance by relaying information from its collective thoughts to the caster. Even if the desired information has been eradicated in the physical world, it is the Noosphere that sustains knowledge beyond into the ether.

Esoteric Afterlife
Despite the very real presence of Gods and magical forces that exist throughout Lorone, the most secretive and spiritual of psionic nomads believe that the Noosphere is not unlike the Weave in the power it can bring. A force of pure thought that connects with every being that has ever existed is the ultimate ideal for those who percieve the mind as the truest form of the self.

Radical psions, monks, and even wizards who believe in this aspect of the Noosphere spend hours at a time meditating, believing that they can attune their minds telepathically to this universal gestalt consciousness. Some even believe that upon their death, while their soul will flitter away to the planes of the Gods or the Hells, their mind will join the collective consciousness, persisting as a form of mental resonance that is totally distinct from whatever changes are made of them in the afterlife - achieving a pseudo-immortality of the mind.