What do you mean by ‘the Cycle’?
Oh… Geez. Okay. You’re honestly better off reading a book than asking me, but.
If you’ve heard of “the circle of life”, that’s essentially what it means.
Everything in this world lives and dies and lives again, and the different ‘phases of life’ are named after the four seasons.
There’s spirits, like Shaymin and Xerneas, that are more obvious and direct manifestations of those concepts— but everyone is a part of it. Temporary and always moving.
We like to put a lot of emphasis on all that. I know that other dimensions have entire pantheons of gods, with Arceus being the Creator, but our Arceus is The Cycle.
Not… a physical deity, but everything that is. And everything— everyone— is Arceus. So… I’m Arceus, this grass is Arceus, a Magikarp is Arceus; all of the Cycle is Arceus, and Arceus is all of us.
Our world is something divine experiencing existence in a million different forms all at once. Rather than, say, an architect that built a city and all its people. Or something.
This is getting away from me— Just imagine that Arceus is a giant tree, and spirits like myself and Ho-oh are its branches, and everything else is the… leaves…? Sure. And the tree blossoms, and turns green, and loses its leaves, which feed the roots, and so on for eternity.
Sheesh. I’ve said ‘Arceus’ way too much. Anyway, that’s the abstract answer.
It’s also the catch-all term for all of the major factions that sprung up around the different phases and spirits in the Cycle. Most people here (as in, This Universe) align themselves with one of them.
They’re like covens, if you care about Witch and Wizard politics.
Each “court” is like… The ‘state of being’ for each phase in the Cycle; a rest. Beginnings, Middles, Endings, Renewal. Central Court encompasses Everything.
And each “gate” is meant to be the transition between two phases; the action. Birth, Life, Death, Spirit.
So… If that made any sense at all, congratulations. You pass. It’s way too late for any of this, frankly— Yawn.