Shadow Gates
World
Portals, Nexus Gates, Warp Gates, Nexal Transverse, Warp Nodes,
Interdimensional Door...all of these give name to the same thing: a
Shadow Gate. That is to say, a door that goes someplace else.
They are the means by which many creatures originally came to the
world we know as Midwrathe. So believe that these door open into
other places and times that are not even in the same cosmological
universe as Midwrathe. Others possit that each doorway is a random
entropic instance and that the act of opening or transversing the
doorway causes an alternate universe to come into being that is
solely manufactured by the unconscious mind of the traveler. And
still others, learned sages mainly, contend that these doors are
maintenance-ways and conduits leftover by the Great Creator.
There are nearly as many theories as to what Shadow Gates are,
as there are Shadow Gates. What is known is that they are usually
two types: Fixed Gates and Non-Fixed Gates.
Fixed Gates generally have a constant temporal or geographic
component: they may located in the same spot, open to the same
place, and last a set (though undeterminable) period of time. Some
require a manifestation of arcane or divine power to affect their
opening and transmission.
Non-Fixed Gates don't have a geographic or temporal component.
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Sometimes Gates don't always function the same way.
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Sometimes Gates don't always lead to the same place.
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Sometimes Gates are only one way.
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Sometimes Gates don't seem to do anything at all.
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Some
Gates are said to produce a psychic resonance that drives folk
mad.
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Incurable illnesses, plagues, and pestilences are said to issue
forth from Gates.
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Demons
and devils are said to use Gates to trap the unwary and the
foolish.
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Demons
and devils are said to step from certain Gates in the blackest
night to ravage the countryside only to return at the first
light of dawn.
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Gates
are said to cause unexpected and spontaneous pregnancies and
impotence.
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Gates
are said to soul the milk of cows and goats.
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Untold
riches and delights lie at the other end of many Gates (not like
here).
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The
appearance of some Gates seems to be triggered by astronomical
or astral phenomena.
Gates sometimes manifest in areas where there has been a lot of
arcane activity. Mages and sorcerous types seem to draw them; as do
other undefined entropic events.
It is supposed that the Gates were once controlled by the
Lexigraphers. Though as they aren't around anymore and no one is
actually sure they existed themselves (though the dwarves maintain
they did)...this is very difficult to verify. Myths abound of a
large and complex machine that once controlled the operation of the
Gates and functioned to power the Lexigrapher civilization. Supposed
Lexigrapher Sites are characterized by high levels of background
magic, spontaneous appearance of Shadow Gates, and huge ancient
blast craters!
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