Gamers may have the easiest time comprehending what a sphere is - consider a sandbox type game that allows users to create their own servers.  Now, imagine that these servers have connections to each other, but may have different settings - you travel to a new server and find your tools no longer break, while in a different server the sun never sets.  You never have to actively type in a server change - you might walk down a path and find yourself in a new and strange place, or you might travel through a magical gate, or any other number of methods of transit.

Spheres may be considered somewhere between a planet and a nation, within the overarching dimension of Maquette.  They do not exist in ‘material’ space, although they may at times be visible in certain ‘material’ locations (such as the infamous upside down pyramid over Bosque).  Physical activities within the ‘dimensional’ location cannot be seen from the ‘material’ location and vice versa.  (The city of the upside down pyramid, famously, can only see the pyramid replicas in Bosque).

I am sure those who did not understand the analogy for gamers may be scratching their heads now, wondering why I am writing this about spheres, and not dimensions, but do not worry - there is more to cover on this topic.  (For one thing, spheres seem to be unique to Maquette - they do not presently seem to exist in Ignis).

Say you have arrived in the sphere of the Heartlands by one of the guarded gates they keep to ‘material’ locations.  You might see, in the distance, a strange and ominous forest with a castle.  When you ask about it, you will hear that you can only enter if you have lost something and are seeking to find it - and you may only enter on foot, on animal back, or by animal drawn carriage.  This is because the sphere of Thornville Keep - that is to say, that strange, ominous forest and its accompanying castle - operate on different rules than the sphere of the Heartlands, and entry has been magically restricted.  You can see the forest, but you may never reach it no matter how far you walk, unless you meet the conditions of entry.  Organics have died trying to make their way to a sphere whose conditions they cannot meet, so you must tread carefully.  It is highly recommended organics curtail their time in Maquette only to a handful of well known spheres with clear rules for entry.

Hearing all of this, hopefully you understand now what a sphere is - but you are surely wondering now, how is a sphere restricted?  How does that work?

Let’s get to that next.