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~The Shadows~
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The primordial darkness that existed long before the gods. Little is known about the Shadows other than its mere existance, even by the gods; however, it's generally agreed upon that the Shadows controls the fate of the universe, and is likely intricately intertwined with the fabric of the universe, making each and every being a part of the Shadows. Whether the Shadows has a consciousness of its own that any other beings would recognize is uncertain, and there's no generally agreed upon concensus about whether it does or not.
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~The Gods~
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The first five beings in existence, and the originators of all life in the universe. Although they are called "the gods," they are similar to other spirits—rather than being purely incorporeal beings, each god is bound to a physical body. Their "spiritual form" is able to manifest outside of their physical body; this form is able to interact with the world as though it were physical, however any damage done to it does not affect their physical body in the slightest.
Beyond the unknowable power of the Shadows, the gods are the most powerful beings in the universe, and have certain traits specific to them. For one, they are able to wield powerful magic no other being can, seemingly being able to bend reality to their will—to a degree. Another ability unique to the gods is their “split consciousness:” their spirit can manifest in multiple places at once, and interact “independently,” but are still ultimately connected. Divine souls are unique from others in that they have a “soul’s home” (see: [afterlife]). Because their souls are “whole,” the memories of the gods can never degrade or be lost, unless specific memories are destroyed.
Lastly, one trait which is not specific to the gods, but is still noteworthy, is that the gods are able to see the souls of humans. They are able to recognize and distinguish between them, even if they last saw that soul many lives ago.
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~Elder Gods~
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There are two elder gods: Mère Terre and Père Ciel, both born simultaneously at the beginning of the "known" universe. Originally, they were one singular being, a bright light birthed from the darkness. The light quickly grew a consciousness, and a desire—it wished to expand outwards, to multiply and fill the world with its light. However, it soon expended itself, until it got an idea to split into two. As it did this, a great transformation took place—one of the halves became an ever expanding aether, while the other became a small, rocky sphere: Père Ciel and Mère Terre.
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~Younger Gods~
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Presently there are two younger gods: Lady Sun and Maiden Moon. Lady Sun was born soon after Mère Terre and Père Ciel split; as their transformation snuffed out the light they once were, they decided to come together in hopes of creating a new light to fill the darkness. Much to their delight, Lady Sun was born. Lady Sun's light, in those days, filled the entire sky.
Eventually, though Lady Sun remained bright, she began to dim somewhat, and asked her parents to create a sibling who might help her alight the sky. This time when they came together, however, their child wasn't the bright shining star they desired, but small and rocky like her mother—thus, Maiden Moon was born.
After Maiden Moon, Mère Terre and Père Ciel tried one more time to have a child. This one was much like Lady Sun, except even more bright and brilliant; however, this "child" was dreadfully unstable, and broke into billions of pieces—becoming the stars and planets that fill the night sky. Although these "stars" (planets and stars) are not considered "gods" on their own, they have the same divine origin as the gods.
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~Fae~
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Fae (or faeries) are considered the next highest beings after the gods. Their physical forms are intimitely connected to the gods, although precisely how depends on the form of the fae. However, this may be the only similarity between the various forms of fae—while humans tend to conflate the beings called "fae", they are actually extremely different, enough to nearly be considered different kinds of creatures entirely.
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~Lower Fae~
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The spirits of "non-animate" nature, such as rocks, water, air, fire, etc. These fae were the earliest to exist, as they were not quite "created." Rather, these faeries are a small part of each god, like a microbe which makes up a larger organism. Lower fae can barely be considered alive or sentient, if at all, even in a spiritual sense. Instead, they are responsive to the desires of either the gods, or those who the gods' energies have intimitely touched; in particular, priests and occassionally higher fae. Controlling these fae is considered a form of magic, elemental magic.
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~Higher Fae~
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The spirits of "animate" nature, sans animals, consisting mostly of plants and fungus. Unlike the lower fae, the higher fae were specifically created by Mère Terre, and are physically connected to her. These fae can be considered spirits proper, being able to manifest their "spiritual form" outside of their bodies like the gods; unlike the gods, however, their spiritual form can only manifest in one place at a time. Higher fae are unique in their perceptive abilities—they are able to not merely see the souls of humans and gods and recognize them,
