The Rule of Four

by Zak Arntson 1996

Here's my current thoughts on the Inner Planes' Rule of Four (for those
of you who missed it the first time I posted, a recap'll be done)

Basically, the Outer Planes've got their Rule of Threes, but the Inner Planes
are a much different place, with different fundamental concepts.  The Rule
of Fours (and the other three rules) are meant to give the Inner Planes their
own feel and tone.

1) Unity of Rings.
        Rings're everywhere ... the multiverse has a timeless quality.  The
        Unity of Rings shows this in the way that no matter how you change
        things ... everything rolls right back around to how it was in the
        beginning.  Start at any point on a ring, keep going, and you wind
        up at the same place you started!
        This also states much of the mindset.  Folks don't go out of their
        way to change things (for one, you can't just move cities by belief,
        like in the Outer Planes, you've gotta move 'em brick by brick!) here
        in the Inner Planes.  People figure that the inertia of the Unity of
        Rings'll just set things straight eventually. (Though it doesn't stop
        the most ambitious from _trying_!)

2) Rule of Fours.
        Hey, there's four elemental planes, 4 paraelemental planes, twice four
        quasielemental planes, and half of four energy planes.  The number
        four just seems to happen everywhere out here!  Heck, even folks from
        the Outer Planes (and their Rule of Threes) get stuck with our rules.
        Take the Doomguard for example, how many Citadels do they have?  That's
        right ... four!

3) Rule of Dominance.
        Just as an element is dominated and dominates another, there's always
        somebody who's commanded by a high-up and gives orders to another.
        Hierarchies are a matter of fact, though as per the Unity of Rings,
        you'd be hard-placed to find the bottom rung.  See, even though a 
        ruler realizes she's dominating her serfs, it's the serfs that have
        the potential to leave ... and then what'd she rule over?
        Most people aren't so philosophical, however, and many feel that they
        were born (or created, in some instances) in their place.  Hey, try
        to tell an earth elemental that the state of mind is what counts, and
        his elemental substance doesn't matter (and be sure to be protected
        by magic, as well!)

4) Rule of Opposition.
        Seeing as each element's got another diametrically opposed on the 
        Elemental Ring, each person's and each action's got an opposite.
        (see Newton's 3rd Law, for Physics buffs ... :)  Folks of the
        Inner Planes say this rule applies to the Great Ring in the Outer
        Planes as well.  Each plane on the Ring has an opposing plane right
        across from it!
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