Planar Shift - Part One

Snow laps at the windows of my apartment as the wind outside rattles the glass in its frame. Outside is illuminated only via the light of street lamps and passing cars, the clouds over head blocking any sight of the moon or the stars.

It was a shame really, the first 'blood moon' in quite some time and it was meant to be well and truly a sight to behold if not for the horrendous cloud cover.

Not daring to brave the harsh winter winds to find some better viewing point I merely decided to remain at home, rugged up on the couch under a mountain of cozy blankets and snack foods. Dim light creeps into the living area from the bedroom hallway, the small light being the easiest way to balance between the harsh overheads and wanting to still have some illumination while watching my movie.

As always, my heart races in my chest as I watch the horses race down into the Pelennor Fields, the speech stirring me to action despite the obviously sedentary state I planned to remain in. Still, during the action to come I wanted something to distract myself with as my thoughts turned to the kitchen.

As I clamber to my feet, the blankets giving way and tumbling to the floor, I feel something prick at my nostrils. It is hard to describe, like the air around me was filled with some dull sense of static.

The hair on my arms begins to stand on end, the dark follicles arching in disconcerting manner with short lines of blue energy. I can feel it in my nose as well, the hairs inside following suit before suddenly my eyelashes begin to act as conductors as well.

The bright sparks before my eyes cause me to flinch, my whole body collapsing back onto the coffee table with a loud crash as I find myself temporarily blinded. Suddenly, a rush of air races over my cozily dressed form as the scent of ozone and fresh air barrel into me. 

The terrible brightness still stings my eyes, though not from the arching sparks. Raising a hand to shield my vision I try to squint at the source, my stomach sinking as I find myself staring into an oval of pure white light. It appears to wobble and roil like disturbed water, the glowing disc filling the room with a mixture of dancing shadows from the light emitted on the shifting surface.

I watch in terror as the shifting slowly but surely seems to ease up, the bright light slowly giving way to a more substantial sight beyond.

For much of the multiverse, shifting between the many planes of reality was a more than achievable task. From the many interactions of the material planes ,to those dedicated and leaning towards the elements that unpinned reality as they knew it, all it took to slip past the space betwix was the right know-how and magical talent.

Many of these world co-existed, others closed themselves off, while some simply never wanted to venture out nor were ventured to. In the near infinite cosmos, there was more than enough for intrepid travelers to explore.

However, some planes were deemed forbidden from travel and were often locked behind all manner fo wards and protections by one civilization or another. Some contained man-made terrors beyond our comprehensions, others overly aggressive cultures that would sweep across the multiverse like a plague is left unchecked, some merely had the misfortune of being the spawning ground for some incurable disease. 

Unfortunately, one of the more intriguing planes for many an explorer was our own, Earth.

Earth was different. While forbidden from travel it was not protected by any means beyond it's mere existence. One common thread for all the planes into the multiverse was that of magic, at some level or another there was some life force that bloomed to fuel the casting of magic. While some had more and others less, it would only be a matter of time before the would-be-caster could return home after collecting the sufficient reserves.

Not so for Earth.

Know to many as the 'Dark Star' due to it's oddly gray illumination in maps, Earth seemingly had no source for magic. While at first most civilizations that find Earth are amazed that life and cultures can live and thrive there they soon realize it is impossible to explore or document. From the second anyone enters into our plane their life force is rapidly drained from them, the magic inside rapidly being ripped out by the core of our world until they are nothing but a weak husk on the brink of death.

This is often noted in books relating to the plane, a warning to stay away. However, there are also those who speak of technological marvels. Of communication systems run entirely over the air for the common folk, of entire archives that can be read from the palm of ones hand, of weapons that can blot out the sun and sunder the land itself.

While most authors speak only ill of the forbidden star some speak of ways to slip in, to explore and plunder without any issues, or of how to use the forbidden world as a prison like many of the other off-limit planes.

The problem one needs to overcome is simple, their body cannot survive on the plane once the doorway is closed. Worse yet, the immense power it takes to open the simple portal once the plane begins to drain away the magic from within it means that the portal can only be open for a minute or two at most.

All of the crackpot authors who spoke of their travels through the lands of Earth spoke of the same technique, steal the body of a local in the hopes of preventing the magical atrophy that would soon befall them otherwise. Some were more specific, explaining that they would need to work with a partner to make another portal for their return, while others spoke of the various artefacts or potions to achieve the transfer.

None were perfect though, either leaving the would-be explorer researching for their entire life for some perfect method or inadvertently getting trapped in the forbidden world.

For others though, the trapping was the whole point. What do you do when killing a prisoner is impossible? When holding them will only cause me problems? For many, this was a constant issue, be they heroes trying to defeat their immortal nemesis, a foreign nation trying to permanently end aggression from a neighbor state, or even just a witch who was tired of some knight trying to hunt her down.

Throwing these people into a forbidden plane was always an option, though each had problems. What of the vengeance that would be wrought from their family and allies? What of what you might unleash from the world itself? What if they escaped without your knowing?

The answer to all of these was again, simple. Following the patchy notes of trips to Earth the common plan was obvious, swap the prisoner with some daft and simple local who could be convinced to play along with whatever plan the captors had in store.

Lastly, there were those unlucky few who inadvertently slipped between worlds. Exploring ancient ruins or buying the wrong scroll and necklace from a traveling merchant could be hazardous for your health and sometimes leave you far from home. While some of the books spoke of artifacts used to travel to Earth and engage in swaps, many were deemed myths and fables that were lost to history.

All it would take is touching the wrong thing in some dusty tomb or speaking the wrong phrase from some ancient parchment and even a random commoner could find themselves trapped in a world beyond their comprehension.

I struggle up from my prone position, my arm shifting to better cover my eyes as I feel the air around me race through the solidifying disc of light and deeper into my apartment. I'm forced to brace myself against the coffee table with one hand, the force of the air pressure around me threatening to slide me over the edge and onto the floor.

Slowly, I watch something strain against the surface of the oval, the light warping and straining as though acting as some last line of defense from the creature beyond. The bulge grows further and further, soon forming a tight and taut bubble that almost quivers in one last act of defiance before popping.

My jaw drops I watch the light dissipate into tiny wisps, the shreds dancing in the air for a moment before turning to a dull gray dust after only a few moments away from the disc before me. The image on the other side solidifies, my gaze locking to...