Spirit Portals

"The Portals were our greatest achievement. And also our biggest regret."

— Wanda Sylastra, Brigadian librarian

  The Spirit Portals were an ancient technology that allowed mortals to travel into the Spirit World. They were built as an accessible alternative to the natural portals found throughout the Mortal World. In the past, both mortals and Spirits used them to travel between the planes. However, over time, people used the Spirit Portals less as the dangers that came with them were discovered. By the Age of Triumph, all the portals had been destroyed.  

Mechanics of the Portals

Natural portals sat on the leylines and weakened them when they were opened. Spirit Portals were built to mimic the mechanics of natural portals. When the leylines were weaker, it was easier to cross into the Spirit World, and for them to return. But this was dangerous for people without Arcanis. The leylines would disturb their souls every time they got close.   The Spirit Portals significantly weakened the leylines so everyone could travel through them easily. However, this would destroy the barrier between the Spirit and Mortal Worlds, so the portals were made with an safety switch to shut them down after a few minutes. This wasn’t a problem for most continents, but the scientists of Tarsloya had different ideas after they discovered a new type of magic from the Spirit World.  

The Pursuit of Knowledge

"When the great minds of Tarsloya tampered with the Portals, it was the rest of us who payed the price."

— Yasumichi Toki, a Sonatla cartographer

  It was common for those who entered the Spirit World to come back with new ideas and knowledge. Many shared their experiences with the world, but people wanted to experience the knowledge themselves. This was why the first Spirit Portals were built, with the blessing of the Sentinels. Knowledge would no longer be the domain of those with Arcanis. Now, everyone could have the powers that rivalled the Dragons and the Spirits.   At first, discoveries and scientific advancements were made. Nations became richer and more technologically advanced, and people’s livelihoods improved. However, the scientists of Tarsloya discovered another type of magic, one that would make their kingdoms very powerful. Every time the Spirit Portals opened, this magic would slowly come into the Mortal World, and the scientists would experiment with it. But it was not enough to satisfy their hunger for knowledge.   So the scientists (with the backing of the Sentinels) tampered with the Spirit Portals on their continent so they would remain permanently open. But this came with its own set of problems.  

The Foreign Magic

By removing the safety switch, the scientists weakened the leylines to the point where they were nonexistent. Then the magic the scientists craved flowed through. This angered the Dragons, who had to stop the overflow of magic. As for the scientists, they soon realised why the safety switch was put in place.   Apart from being a barrier between the two planes, it turned out the leylines were the last defence against a darker magic, that the Dragons called Necranis. This was the magic that gave the world hidden knowledge. But it also infected the world and made it sick. Environments started dying and people became very ill. The medicines of the day could not heal them, even with all the knowledge.   Tarsloya was the worst affected, to the point where the continent was steeped in Necranis. To remedy the situation, and possibly to serve as a warning to other nations, the Dragons destroyed most of the continent. But at this point, the magic had already spread across most of the world.   At the start of the Age of Triumph, all the other nations destroyed the Spirit Portals and reserved the harshest punishments for those who tried to rebuild them. The original blueprints were destroyed too. But this could not remove the suffering that had been introduced. The Spirit Portals were built to elevate mortals, but instead, they made the Mortal World much worse.