The Fade

Also known as: Veilslip, Glimmering, Realmshifting

The Fade is a rare and spontaneous condition where an individual partially or wholly slips from the material plane into the ethereal Veil without intent, spellcasting, or a Portal. Some individuals even slip into another realm entire. It is thought to be due to prolonged exposure to magics or devices interacting with the Veil, ley fractures, or unsealed rift zones. Some even claim that it’s due to being born during a Luna flare, which is a bad omen in most cultures.

Episodes of the Fade can last anywhere from seconds to weeks, and leave lingering effects on the body, mind, and spirit.

While early mentions of conditions similar to the Fade exist in folklore, it became recognized as a phenomenon only after the Sundering.

Causes

These are only hypotheses at this time, but researchers are fairly certain of a few causes for the Fade. This list is by no means exhaustive, as the condition is still fairly new.

·       Proximity to active or dormant rifts where realm-bleed is severe.

·       Prolonged exposure to weak spots in the Veil, especially near leylines.

·       Aftereffects of arcane disasters and collapsed Portals.

Being born under a Lunar flare is not listed as an official cause for the Fade, but it is impossible to say that it doesn’t add a certain risk factor, as roughly 25% of the affected have admitted to being born during such a celestial event. But since there is a stigma surrounding it, many might not know if they are or not, and more still might keep it to themselves for fear of punishment.

Some triggering conditions may include emotional extremes, celestial events (especially solstices), contact with objects from foreign realms (Fey blessed items, Voidglass, Shadeblood relics, etc.) and interacting with beings who can naturally phase between realms.

Symptoms

The Fade can be temporary, recurring, or become a chronic condition. Effects vary depending on the realm intruded upon but common symptoms include:

·       Spatial Stuttering: The individual seems to blur or flicker in and out of reality, as if they’re out of lock step.

·       Partial Phasing: Limbs become translucent and ghostly.

·       Environmental Drift: Individuals fade from the material plane completely, experiencing and interacting with the ethereal realm of the Veil or other realms.

·       Shifting Trail: Individuals may experience their speech echoing, sometimes overlapping with unknown languages. Or they can access powers of other realms, or even experience physical transformations.

·       Amnesia: Victims of the Fade sometimes experience amnesiac episodes of the shift itself.

Long-term effects are difficult to discern with any certainty at this time. But shifters may develop anchoring issues, meaning they have trouble staying fixed in one reality, slipping more and more often. Non-magic users can also become ley-contaminated, experiencing spontaneous magic surges they previously had no access to.

The most severe case to date is an individual whose name is anonymous in southern Thal-Veryn whose soul has begun to fracture across the realms.

Treatment

A full cure is not known at this time, but there are several ways to manage the condition, more or less. The Thirawen Sanctums can offer peace and stabilization to afflicted individuals, especially for those who shift into the realm that that sanctum guards.

There has been some success with magical tattoos etched into the ribs that focus on planar binding.

Cultural views

The Thirawen have many names for the people who experience the Fade; petalwraiths, snowechoes, etc.

Among the Akati, there are many who believe that this is how the first realmwalker was found, leading to Ayursha and Farachimo giving them the gift of controlling the Veil. Accidental shifters who learned to master the fold, so to speak.

In Lossorach a new law brands untrained realmshifters as potential breaches and restricts their movements.