User:Ecstasy Amphetamine/sandbox4

At the depths of our natural world is the very heart of nature itself (also referred to as nature's blasted core, heart of all creation, heart of existence, core of all existence, fundament of nature, core of the universe, etc.), a plane of existence in the world of Dota 2.

Description
Although nature is very much real, what we know is hardly the truth of the cosmos. The reality of reality is that there is a central hinterland deep within the totality of creation, a world that has torment, suffering, and decay as its essentials. This is the heart of nature. Due to its hidden nature, it can be seen thru the haunted Chronoptic Crystals, and those who do so will find a revelation so horrifying and hideous that it alters them irreparably on every level of their being. As such, the heart of nature is lurid and vile.

Besides the core of Nature being a world of torment and decay, it is said by Leshrac to be a blasted world, meaning that it's a nature destroyed and damaged. Despite its evilness, it's substantial to the existence of this universe, since it is called the “core of the universe” or the “fundament of nature” to Enigma, the latter name implying that this foul plane is the very foundation of all creation which supports its existence—a starting point for creation from where all things in nature are formed from.

According to Leshrac, the physical form generally comes from this plane of existence, which may explain why it is called the heart of nature. If every being's form originates from this blasted plane, then all who have their bodies provided to them from this plane is undergoing an existence of suffering that they have yet to learn until they realize it by seeing this evil truth of nature for themselves, since their corporeal body's origin is a world made of tormented elements.

The Impurities
Akin to the natural world's elements, the Impurities are the elements that form the heart of all creation. As impure elements, the whole that they compose mirrors their properties, thus it's a plane of blight and torment. There are four Impurities corresponding with the elements/states of matter: sinister energy, tainted water, evil wind, and brittle earth.

Judging by these impure elements of nature, the heart of nature is also hostile, polluted, and broken down to the point of fragility, truly making this plane a realm of utter chaos.

Locations
A malfunction with the reality warping Continuum Device opened the paths to many realms and dimensions in the Continuum Vault, including the Weald of Torment, which is implied to be in the heart of nature. The nihilist Ash the Defiler lives in this forest.

Speculation
Interestingly, the place chosen for Enigma to receive random item drops is the "fundament of nature" or the "core of the universe" where things he calls “treasures” spring from.

Perhaps this world was chosen as his source of random drops because it is a chaotic plane, further adding that the heart of nature is also chaotic because of its randomness, besides its impurity and desolation. This also adds the fact that this evil heart of nature does not just create the form itself, but just about anything that Enigma considers a worthy treasure. As such its ability to create things from chaos means that this place isn't just the source of the form, but also the source of creation itself, at least on a material level.

Speaking of creation from chaos, this is similar to creation from nothingness. This may bridge the gap between this realm and everything related to it with nothingness since a state of chaos is closer to annihilation or nothingness than a state of order, as the Chaos Knight himself can attest.

The heart of nature being the source of creation competes in validity with the various creation stories found in Dota 2, such as existence being created from the Elder Titan's mistakes, all of existence being born from the sundering of the Wailing One, the essential threads that compose reality being woven from the Loom, etc.

Notable Inhabitants
Judging by the kinds of people who know or are related with the place, the heart of reality is known to and meant for nihilists only. After all, mere knowledge of this plane is enough to turn anyone into a nihilist.

It's interesting to note that there seems to be no intelligences that are native to this place. The only intelligences here are those that aren't even native creatures, but rather visitors like Leshrac (although he, and perhaps all of nature, technically belong here). Perhaps the lack of native, sapient beings has something to do with this place having witless elements, with "witless" possibly meaning that they lack a mind. If there were any native intelligences here, then Leshrac would not have called this place a cloister. But this isn't the case, implying that he's the only creature here.

Heroes

 * he is alone here
 * guardian and agent
 * having learned that the truth of nature is t, s, and d, via Chronoptic Crystals he believes that everyone is tormented like he is, but laments that they don't know the horrifying truth that he knows as such he forces everyone to see the truth like he did by sending them there, returning their form to where it came from. here, they will return to the impurities and merge with them
 * tithe of gold
 * end to it all
 * basis of evil personality and nihilism

Characters
Ash the Defiler lives in the Weald of Torment, accessible in the Continuum Vault. His place's name implies that it's in the heart of nature. It's unknown if he coexists with Leshrac.

Flora
Solely based on the plants that grow on Leshrac's body—which is completely at one with this realm and thus it's a reflection of what may grow in there—the heart of nature seems to have its own plant life, just like the natural plane that it supports. Eldritch cyan branches (or roots, based on the title of the cosmetic that they are featured in) that have what appears to be pink thorns grow here, which may be used to channel a great but unknown power through them. They might be nourished by the impure element of tainted water, since these branches appeared as one of the several growths on Leshrac's body after he drank the tainted waters.

Whether these branches or roots of strange unnatural powers belonged to or are derived from a larger plant like a tree or a bush from this core of reality’s implied ecosystem is not known. After all, woods like the Weald of Torment exist here. As such, these weird roots/branches seem to imply that even life and ordered structures can still exist in a realm as tumultous as this. In spite of this, it is possible that these branches did not assume order in this heart of creation until they took shape on his form in a less chaotic plane such as our own. Basically, they were formless in their plane due to its chaos until they took form in ours thru Leshrac's body. Regardless, this is all just speculation. Wicked vines seem to live here as well. Unlike wisdom that needs the vital elements of bright light, fresh air, and clean waters to grow, these vines are a twisted sort of wisdom that feeds and thrives off of their host's anguish, black thoughts, and foul deeds.

These vines are referred to as a “wisdom” which may be synonymous with sapient. This seems to imply that they are a sapient or some sort of intelligence, contradicting the aforementioned statement of the heart of nature lacking any intelligences. However, it's possible that they aren't a sapient. Just because they deal with products of the mind, it doesn't automatically imply that they have one of their own. They may simply rely on said products for nourishment and may have nothing to do with their alleged consciousness.

Other organisms
Thorny and stone-hard fungi grow in this place. They might be referred to as "unnatural" because they are of the heart of nature, which is beyond our natural world. Or they are unnatural because they didn't grow under normal circumstances, instead growing on Leshrac's body as one of the many growths that he gained from sipping the tainted waters. The latter seems to imply that these fungi may be nourished by the tainted waters.

The existence of fungi in this plane implies the existence of other multicellular organisms beyond them, perhaps even animals, but so far there are none.

Heroes
When receives a “treasure” of great worth, he will mention its source: a place he calls the “fundament of nature” and the “core of the universe.”  These two names might be referring to a single place and both names are synonymous with the heart of nature, which means that he may be referring to this said plane of existence. This makes him one of the few entities to know about the evil truth of nature. Him knowing this place may also explain why he's nihilistic and pessimistic like Leshrac and Ash. Upon acquiring an, Enigma reuses the second voice line, implying that these runes come from the core of the universe for some reason.

Trivia

 * The heart of nature's lore may have been inspired by the concept of the world being created from a state of chaos, common in creation myths that depict this world as being made from disorder. Between these stories and myths, chaos may be depicted as a formless heap of mass or pure nothingness, or even a being who identifies as either depictions.