성층

Planes (星層), or the three worlds (三界) principle, are realms identified by the 칠요 교회.

In Septian cosmology

The Septian Church states that the world consists of a number of planes situated on top of one another. Generally, it distinguishes three main planes with countless other planes (界) in-between them:

• The top plane is the sky (空), where the Goddess dwells;
• In the middle is the earth (地上), where mankind lives;
• At the bottom lies 연옥 (煉獄), where sinners are judged.

The majority of the games take place in the middle plane on the continent of 제무리아. Exceptions exist, however. 환영의 나라, the main setting for 하늘의 궤적 the 3rd, is a world that belongs to a plane (次元) between the highest and the middle one. It was created thousands of years before the 대붕괴 and start of the Septian Calendar. It served as a self-organised world designed to realise the creation of possible other worlds as desired for by the 고대 제무리아 문명 that inhabited the 리벨 아크. Specific examples of phenomena from 바깥 that the Church has attributed to the Goddess include the planes of existence.

The planes are first mentioned in 하늘의 궤적 the 3rd, where 종기사 리스 아르젠트 explains that the plane of humanity, equated to the continent of 제무리아, is a relative low plane of existence. She cites a Testament: "Our world and the world of the Goddess will forever be separate; She simply drops pebbles from above, known as miracles..." .

Other Planes

There may exist other planes that lie in between or beyond those mentioned by the Septian Church, such as the realm where 환수s originate from or the extradimensional space found in the Old School House and the 거대한 그림자의 영역. The dimension where the 리벨 아크 is sealed may also be such a realm.

The 이계 is visited numerous times in Trails of Cold Steel IV. This realm seems to exist parallel to the physical world and has a red hue throughout. During the events of this time, demons are mostly seen and fought within this plane.

Mechanics

The games distinguish kinds of enemies according to this principle.

The monsters that roam on the human plane demonstrate no weaknesses to the higher elementals: time, space and mirage. In other planes, such as the world of 환영의 나라, enemies consist of 마물s—creatures that cannot exist in the human plane—that do possess weaknesses to these higher elements.

Phantasmagoria, the final dungeon of the 3rd, is modelled after the High Seat of the 칠요 교회 in 아르테리아 법국. Unlike the prominent within the seven planes of 환영의 나라, the enemies in Phantasmagoria are linked to the angelic orders, including:

• Blade Angel, a maiden who defends heaven, supports and attacks. Eldest of three sisters.
• Arrow Angel, a maiden who defends heaven and supports allies, the second eldest of three sisters.
• Rod Angel, a maiden who defends heaven, supports and uses arts, the youngest of three sisters.
• Heaven's Proclaimer, messenger from Heaven that proclaims the end of an age and calls allies and explodes on death.
• Tildawn, Guardian of Heaven that can see sin and judges the sinful, and delivers punishment to them, also appeared in the 정령굴 of Cold Steel II.
• Rose Cherubim, an angelic statue that guards holy places. Seals foes' movement with icy stares.
• Sleipnir, two-headed tank that guards Heaven and soars the skies and scorches the earth down below, after which an 우로보로스-made archaism is made.

  

  Sleipnir