An interdimensional performance of imagination

Neil Gaiman is the master of magical realism — he perfectly blends real-life, relatable characters with rich, dark fantasy, pulling from a wide range of different cultural mythologies and spiritual systems and weaving them in completely new ways into modern culture.

The Neverending Story, Dark Crystal and Labyrinth. Why? Mixing live actors with puppetry in fantastical landscapes, rich with lore and "weirdness," they are much darker than fantasy films of today. We have a wish to bring back the imagination-sparking wonder lacking in today's fantasy worlds. Jim Henson and Brian Froud (the designer of the creatures and worlds in Dark Crystal and Labyrinth) are massive inspirations. His trolls book inspired the lore book we created.

We are inspired by Tim Burton's consistent aesthetic, trademark color palettes and repeating themes across all his work. He created a universe for the weird ones, the outsiders, the kids that felt like they didn't belong.

The Major Arcana of the Tarot represents a set of universal archetypes — situations, feelings and behaviors that everyone can relate to. For us, loosely basing a fantasy universe on the archetypes in the Tarot made perfect sense. The Tarot in itself can be seen as a journey of self-discovery or a spiritual path from the innocent "Fool" card to the wonder and fulfillment of the "World." The artwork on the cards is full of layered symbolism, which you can study, meditate upon and use as a tool to understanding your own psyche.

As a psychedelic philosopher and ethnobotanist, Terence Mckenna delivered hours of transcendent lectures on the nature of consciousness and came closer than anyone in his attempts to map out the bejeweled universe that can be visited in psychedelic space. He vividly and poetically described the "machine elves" that he and thousands of others have encountered. One can only guess that they might be just another incarnation of the Lumins in the 2.5th dimension. He was a fierce proponent of diving into these astral planes and attempting to bring something back. He was a big inspiration in the creation of our universe.

Grimes is an inspiring vision of the future, writing and producing all her music and creating the strong visual art and aesthetic surrounding it. She espouses a positive, ethical, beautiful vision for the future of the virtual world, wrapped in sci-fi storytelling and lore creation.

Brit Marling is the cowriter and star of the Netflix show The OA. This series explores themes of inter-dimensional travel and the afterlife — but what's most inspiring is the originality of the super-natural concepts blended with real-life drama and relationships.